Vampire Academy: 3rd Times the Prince Charming
by Assassin master ezio 91
Summary: Part 1 of a trilogy; Rose and Lissa attempt to fit back into St. Vladimir's Academy after being brought back from running away. However they soon face strange obstacles to their attempts for a quiet life; an irate fellow student; awkward feelings regarding love and, worst of all, a sinister plot involving one of the most respected Moroi.
1. Chapter 1

**Vampire Academy: 3****rd**** Times the Prince Charming**

Chapter 1 of a new Vampire Academy story, part 1 of a trilogy, hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer: Vampire Academy belongs to Richelle Mead.

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**Chapter 1**

ROSE POV

"Rose; Rose it's time to get up."

I groaned and pulled the covers over my head. "Five more minutes Lissa." I mumbled.

The covers however were pulled back down and Lissa replied.

"No Rose, I already gave five more minutes."

Grumbling I got out of bed; my best friend Lissa stood next to me bed; shaking her head.

"Honestly Rose…" She admonished. "We've only been back a month and a half; we're still on probation, especially you. Do you want to get yourself in trouble already?"

I sighed; Lissa was right. Some time ago, I was worried that someone was stalking Lissa, and it was my duty as a Guardian (okay a Novice but still) to protect her. However it was clear that nothing would be done here at St. Vladimir's Academy. So we went on the run, but we were caught a month and a half ago and brought back. Since then we had been forced to return to the usual routine of school; but the fear I'd had had disappeared, so I guessed it was okay.

My name is Rosemarie Hathaway, by the way, but I prefer being called Rose. I am seventeen and a Dhampir; a result of a union between Moroi and Dhampir. I have long thick dark brown hair, brown eyes and tan skin. Lissa is a Moroi with long blonde hair and jade green eyes; her skin is very pale. As a Moroi Lissa is in fact a vampire; but one that is actually alive and doesn't drain the victim dry when she feeds on their blood. As a Dhampir, I have enhanced speed, strength and reflexes in comparison to a normal human; as a result I trained to improve them even more, in order to protect Lissa from the Moroi's deadliest enemies: the Strigoi; unliving vampires who always killed their victims.

I decided I best get ready since the day was starting; I didn't want to get into any more trouble –my actions reflected on Lissa after all, and I didn't want her in trouble. Lissa was already dressed in her St. Vladimir's uniform, a red and black plaid pleated skirt that reached down to two inches above her knees; a black blouse; red blazer; a red and black striped tie and black flats. Part of the uniform was black socks but Lissa didn't wear those; she stated a personal taste. I pulled off my pyjamas and quickly got dressed, pulling on my uniform, which was essentially the same as Lissa's but with two differences: I wore my skirt at mid-thigh length and wore knee length socks.

"Okay, I'm ready now." I said; "Let's go, get this over with."

Lissa laughed. "It's not that bad Rose; you just need to put the effort in, that's all," she replied. I rolled my eyes as we left the dorm.

"It's boring." I complained.

Shaking her head Lissa let the subject drop and soon we split up and headed to our first classes.

I soon arrived at my first class, Bodyguard Theory and Personal Protection. I took my seat, smiling at the students who greeted me, while ignoring those who shot me glares. They blamed me for Lissa leaving, and rightly so, as far as I was concerned. On either side of my desk were two of my closest friends, both Dhampirs: Mason Ashford and Eddie Castile, both the same age as me. Eddie has blonde hair and blue eyes; Mason, red hair and brown eyes. They were both dressed in the male version of the St. Vladimir's uniform: black trousers with a red stripe down each leg; a black button-up shirt; red blazer; a red and black striped tie; black socks and black leather shoes.

They both turned to me and smiled.

"Hey Rose." Mason greeted cheerfully.

I return their smiles. "Hey guys, so, ready for the usual tedium?" I quipped.

They both laughed; and Eddie replied.

"Well, it's gotta be done."

"I'd just rather by doing something more…productive." I responded with a shrug.

It was always easy for me to talk like this with Mason and Eddie; Mason especially. Apart from Lissa he was the first friend I made; while it wasn't the case here, we sometimes have a fun time, playfully flirting with each other. However our conversation was quickly cut off by Stan Alto, the class instructor.

"Okay, enough you three, class has actually started."

We immediately stopped talking and got to work. I knew the best way to resolve our probation was to keep our heads down and work; so that's what I did.

I did the same and worked carefully through my first set of classes; the morning classes had Dhampir and Moroi attend separate classes, while the afternoon classes had mixed classes. So I would at least be with Lissa during these classes. It was finally time for lunch and so I headed for the cafeteria.

On the way however I heard a voice calling my name. I turned to face the owner of the voice, and then immediately rolled my eyes. I should've guessed the moment I heard the voice: It was a Moroi boy, my age, perhaps a bit older, with black hair and eyes; Jesse Zeklos. I wouldn't deny he was good-looking; but something about him made me feel a little uneasy. I knew I usually drew the attention of boys and I admit I usually liked the attention, but something about the way Jesse looked at me, well, it was creepy to tell the truth.

"So, Rose; it's good to have you back." He said. He didn't sound like his usual suave self. He sounded serious. "You know, it's been a month and a half, you could've come and spoken to me sooner; when's the last time we spoke?"

I sighed. "Sorry Jesse; I've been busy. Listen, I…"

He shook his head, smiling. "Okay, okay I get it, well; we better hurry or they'll be nothing good left for lunch. Talk to you later."

With that he waved casually and left; his voice may have been serious, but he still had that look in his eyes. Shaking my head I continued onwards and reached the cafeteria but stopped when I heard Lissa's voice nearby.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what you…"

Then an angry voice I did not know. "Yeah right, just shut up, you honestly think I care."

I heard the hostility in the other voice and knew I had to act — Lissa was in trouble.

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End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	2. Chapter 2

**Vampire Academy: 3****rd**** Times the Prince Charming**

Chapter 2 of my Vampire Academy story, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: Vampire Academy belongs to Richelle Mead.

* * *

**Chapter 2**

ROSE POV

I immediately hurried in the direction of the voices and saw Lissa; she was sitting at one of the tables near the window next to the courtyard. Standing in front of her, hands on her hips and glaring angrily, was a young girl. She was rather short with long curly blonde hair and blue eyes; her pale skin identified her as Moroi. She had an almost doll like appearance. She wore the girls' uniform but with thigh high socks and skirt even shorter than mine, coming down to between mid-thigh length and her butt. I could see from her stance she was threatening Lissa, I immediately hurried over.

"Hey!"

I grabbed the girl by the shoulder and spun her around to face me. I was surprised at how I towered over her; most Dhampir and Moroi were taller than me. That didn't make her look any less angry however. She quickly brushed my hand off her shoulder and glared with me.

"What's your problem, this is a private argument," she snapped.

I raised an eyebrow. "Hardly private if you're shouting all the time; just what do you think you're doing here anyway, doll-face, you…"

The girl cut me off, snapping, "I'm sixteen; bitch; anyway, this is none of your business…"

I glared, deciding it was time to set this girl straight.

The girl then began to turn back to Lissa; however I immediately moved and put myself between them. Before the girl could start mouthing off again I explained angrily,

"This is my business; since I'm her Guardian."

The girl stopped; realization seemed to dawn on her face, and then she smirked. "Oh, you're Rosemarie Hathaway…what, you think I'm scared of you? I know you're on probation. You can't do anything."

I bit back my retort, trying to keep my temper in check; she was right, but it still annoyed me having it shoved in my face like this. I then felt Lissa grab my arm.

"Rose; don't…" She began but then stopped.

I also noticed the new arrival: a Moroi boy, seventeen with blonde hair and blue eyes; clad in the boys' version of the uniform. It was Aaron Drozdov; he had been Lissa's boyfriend before we left. I had expected him to move on; but recently it seemed they had got back together.

"What's going on?" He asked.

The girl stopped, seeing what appeared to be odds against her, and stalked away. I turned to Aaron and Lissa.

"Who was she, what the hell was that all about?" I asked.

As I asked the questions Mason walked up and, overhearing, answered for me.

"Her name's Mia Rinaldi; I don't get it exactly, she's been like that ever since you guys came back." He paused. "She's normally not that angry."

I sighed and sat down with the others, pondering on what I had just been told.

Lissa was still shaken by her encounter with Mia; however Aaron seemed to be cheering her up. I thought about this new bit of information, wondering what this Mia girl could possibly want. Why was she so hostile? Deciding that worrying about it would get me nowhere, I pushed it to the back of my mind as Eddie also joined us along with Natalie Dashkov. A distant relative of Lissa's, Natalie had black hair and jade green eyes, similar to Lissa's. She was the daughter of Viktor Dashkov, a Royal of great importance. Natalie was a little…strange, but friendly. I was more than willing to tolerate her friendship with Lissa over other Royals'. I knew it wasn't easy for Lissa, being the last Dragomir; after the death of her parents and older brother Andre, she was now alone. The other Royals therefore expected so much from her, now that she represented her family, but Natalie didn't mind that; she was happy with Lissa being herself.

Finally lunch was over and we began to head to our afternoon classes. Lissa was in a much better mood now.

"Hey Rose, Aaron and I are gonna watch a movie tonight," she said. "If you want, you can join us."

I shook my head. "I'd love to Lissa but…I have my extra training session after school, remember."

She nodded in understanding; To make up for all the Guardian training I had missed after we left, I had to attend extra training session; which were overseen by one of the Guardians who brought us back, Dimitri Belikov.

By the time the afternoon classes were finished I was ready. I headed straight from my last class, after saying goodbye to Lissa, and headed for the gym where my extra lessons took place. I soon arrived and found Dimitri waiting for me. Dimitri was twenty-four; tall and muscular, with long brown hair which he tied back in a ponytail and brown eyes. He was clad in his usual clothes: a dark Guardian's uniform with his own personal touch, a duster coat. Like all Dhampir his skin was tanned. He smiled and nodded when he saw me.

"Rose; good, you're on time," he remarked, his voice carried a strong Russian accent. "Go get ready; we'll begin at once."

I nodded and headed into the changing room and changing into the gym style uniform that I wore for my official Guardian training class: black shorts; a red T-shirt; black socks and black sneakers. I left the changing room and joined Dimitri in the gym; he had removed his duster and was already prepared to begin.

Dimitri nodded seriously. "Now, let's begin," he said; his voice was business-like and I focused, ready for the lesson.

We started by going over the basics briefly; reviewing them, as we did at the start of every lesson. Then we started the lesson in earnest; however despite my best efforts, as had happened quite recently, I found my attention wandering. It was hard to focus.

'Dammit Rose, focus, this isn't the time.' I thought to myself; 'This isn't the time to be thinking about having a crush on your mentor.'

That was my big problem: I had formed a crush on Dimitri, which was unusual for me.

I wasn't normally like this; usually if I liked a guy I told him so and whatever happened, happened. But it felt strangely different with Dimitri. Finally, by the end of the training session I was still confused by my feelings; however I kept myself focused, compartmentalizing my feelings and working on the task at hand. Once I had changed back into my uniform I listened to Dimitri's comments on my performance, replied when necessary, and finally left, determined to try and rationalize these strange feelings within me.

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End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	3. Chapter 3

**Vampire Academy: 3****rd**** Times the Prince Charming**

Chapter 3 of my Vampire Academy story, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Wolfgirl2013: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it; yeah, most likely you will be the only one to comment at all, since everybody else just isn't bothering.**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: Vampire Academy belongs to Richelle Mead.

* * *

**Chapter 3**

ROSE POV

I sighed as I walked back to the common room. Part of the probation meant I was on a curfew; after I finished the extra training session I had to return to the dormitory immediately. Lissa, due to her status as a Royal and last of the Dragomirs, did not have this restriction. However, much to the disappointment of many Royals and faculty, she did not exploit this. When my curfew set in she stayed in the common room too; keeping me company.

As I headed to the common room my mind was racing. My head was pounding due to the rush of thoughts, about Dimitri and my feelings for him. I tried hard to rationalize it, but to no avail.

'Okay, I'm tired and that's not gonna help me,' I thought to myself. 'Maybe tomorrow, when I wake, I'll be able to sort things out.'

Satisfied with that and trying to push my thoughts about Dimitri to the back of my mind for now, I entered the common room. When I did I saw a few other people around, mostly those who were busy studying or watching the TV. Lissa and Aaron, now changed into more casual clothes, were watching TV. Lissa smiled and waved when she saw me. I smiled back and nodded before darting up to my room and removing my uniform, then pulling on my own casual clothing. I headed back downstairs and joined them on the sofa in front of the TV.

Once I joined them Lissa turned to me.

"Hey Rose, so how did the training go?" She asked.

I smiled, trying to ignore the unintended reminder of Dimitri. "Fine, Dimitri's quite impressed, says I'm making good progress."

Lissa nodded happily and leaned against Aaron; he had his arm around her waist. I studiously turned my attention to the TV. The last thing I needed was seeing something that could complicate things further for my problematic thoughts regarding Dimitri. I looked around the room, but didn't see anybody else I was especially close to. Mason and Eddie weren't here and everybody else was already too busy. So I stayed where I was and decided, despite how awkward I may have felt, to continue talking to Lissa and Aaron. So I turned back to them only to find them kissing. I turned away again, shifting awkwardly and cursing my bad timing. When I heard them pull apart, however, I turned back to them.

"So, you guys got anything planned for tomorrow?" I asked.

Tomorrow was the weekend after all, no lessons, save my training sessions with Dimitri. Aaron said he was busy while Lissa planned to visit the church and help clean it, in preparation for Sunday. I nodded; I knew that it wouldn't take her long so I arranged to meet up with her afterwards. It was then the official curfew, where everybody had to be in their rooms, set in. We all headed to our rooms.

Once in my room I got changed into my sleepwear, a black tank-top and black panties, before climbing into bed. I tried to sleep, trying hard not to be overwhelmed by my thoughts; tomorrow would be the time for me to go over them.

The following morning I woke up and got out of bed. After stretching and pulling on some fresh underwear, jeans, and a T-shirt, I sat on my bed and sighed.

'Okay…Let's sort this out.' I told myself in my thoughts. 'Because I can't just go around crushing on Dimitri, I need to try and put this in perspective.'

I pondered my feelings. It was clear that it was a crush but it felt strangely different. I once had a crush on Jesse, but this was different, _completely_ different. It felt deeper; almost like real unrequited love.

The moment I thought that, I fervently tried to rationalize that sudden thought. 'Whoa, hold on, that can't be right; I can't love him, not like that. We're both Dhampir, such a relationship would be forbidden.'

Anything other than temporary romances between Dhampir's were considered taboo; especially since Dhampir were unable to have children with other Dhampir, some quirk in our DNA. Temporary romances were accepted so long as they didn't run too deep and did not cause any real conflicts with the Dhampir's Guardian duties. In fact most Dhampir's were assigned as Guardians to their Moroi lovers, creating an extremely strong bond. It was believed that by doing this they almost guaranteed the Moroi's safety, since they had a Guardian who would fight to the bitter end for their love.

'Doesn't look like that's the case for me…Besides, this is even more complicated.' I thought sadly.

It was true; Dimitri wasn't the only person on my mind. There was someone else I found myself with developing feelings for, honestly, the last person I thought. Again it would be a forbidden relationship as we were both Dhampir; however I had lately been developing feelings for Mason too. No wonder I felt so conflicted.

It was then it happened. For some strange reason, ever since the car crash which killed Lissa's parents, in which I was also part of, I had somehow formed a strange mental link to Lissa. It was only one way; I could see things from her eyes, enter her mind, but not the other way around. Right now I suddenly found myself pulled out of my own conflicted thoughts and into Lissa's. I was confused at first, but soon realized why. The most common thing that drew me into her mind was high emotions; in this case apprehension. I could see why she was apprehensive. While cleaning the church Lissa had gone up to the church attic and ran into someone while there. The person she ran into was seventeen, a Moroi with messy jet black hair and pale blue eyes. I recognized him right away; so too did Lissa, hence her apprehension.

It was Christian Ozera.

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End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	4. Chapter 4

**Vampire Academy: 3****rd**** Times the Prince Charming**

Chapter 4 of my Vampire Academy story, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)  
RoseLissaBelikova: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it; well, wait and see what happens throughout these stories :)  
Guest: Thanks :)**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: Vampire Academy belongs to Richelle Mead.

* * *

**Chapter 4**

LISSA POV

I froze, suddenly uncertain; the rumours about Christian Ozera as well as knowledge about what his parents had done, made me wary. Christian, however, seemed just as surprised by my presence as I was by his. He stood up – like most students, during weekends he didn't wear his uniform. His clothing, I noticed, seemed to be rather scruffy: faded worn jeans and a similar T-shirt. I wasn't sure why, but I found myself wiping my hands on the skirt of my dress, suddenly feeling rather self-conscious. After getting over his surprise Christian smiled.

"Well, fancy meeting you here Princess." He greeted rather casually.

I had to admit, I was surprised by how relaxed he sounded. After hearing all those stories about him and his parents I guess I was expecting him to be sullen, even angry, all the time.

I tried to smile but it didn't come; Christian seemed to notice my apprehension and his smile too faded. I knew immediately he was guessing what I was thinking about. The Ozera's were once a famous royal family, even well liked. They were also once one of the most well-known royal families along with mine, the Ivashkov's, and the Lazar's. But then Christian's parents betrayed the Moroi in the worst possible way, by becoming Strigoi, our mortal enemies. They were killed before they could force Christian, who had only been a child at the time, to follow their footsteps, but the damage done to the Ozeras' reputation was permanent, especially affecting Christian as it had been his parents, and people felt certain he would do what they had done at any given time.

All this rushed through my mind as I stood before him. Christian sighed and stepped back.

"What's the matter, scared I might bite?" He quipped; but his eyes were humourless.

I realized immediately what I was doing and quickly shook my head, clearing my throat. "I…I'm sorry I just; I." I stopped again before letting out a slow careful breath. "I'm sorry. I just, didn't expect anyone to be here. Not even; well, I guess I never expected to meet you here."

Christian raised an eyebrow. "Oh and why is that?"

I swallowed nervously and then explained. "Well, you never struck me as the religious type."

He laughed at that, _really_ laughed.

"You've got me there, Princess." He stated after he caught his breath. "But, this is the perfect hiding spot you see, perfect for a guy like me."

I lowered my head. I could understand, sadly, the need he felt to hide. The pressure he must face, being the shamed son of the two traitors.

"I…I guess I can understand you wanting to hide away. I feel like that sometimes." I blurted out, not really sure why I said it.

He looked at me strangely. "Huh, you feeling okay Princess, why would you wanna hide?"

I shook my head. "Because everyone expects so much of me, being the last of my line I…Sometimes it's just too much, I just wish I could, disappear, if even for a while."

As I said that I felt that suddenly I had said too much, however Christian's gaze softened and somehow, I felt myself relaxing.

After a moment of silence Christian smiled and moved slightly closer.

"You know, if you like; you could come stay here whenever you want to hide." He stated. "I wouldn't mind; seriously."

"I wouldn't want to intrude." I replied at once.

However he shook his head. "You wouldn't be intruding, I can promise you that."

So I agreed, after some persuasion, and then, excusing myself, I left; I had finished cleaning up anyway. Christian thankfully didn't try to stop me; he seemed content to simply spend some more time there by himself. I wasn't sure where I was headed; I wasn't really paying attention. However a voice calling my name got my attention. I turned to face the owner of the voice. I smiled when I saw it was Rose.

"There you are, I was looking for you." She said quickly. "Are you okay?"

I was confused for a moment but then remembered our bond; she had seen my meeting with Christian.

"I'm fine Rose, really." I told her before going on to explain about my conversation with Christian.

When I finished Rose frowned. "You're seriously thinking of taking him up on his offer?"

I nodded. "Of course, I mean, you heard my reasons, is there a problem."

"I just don't trust him." Rose said with a shrug.

I frowned at that, but Rose then clarified,

"Not because he's an Ozera, but because he's clearly trying to get you alone with him." She then sighed and smiled sardonically. "Maybe I'm just trying too hard at my duty as your Guardian."

We both laughed at that and continued walking on. Our laughter was cut short, however, by a nasal-sounding voice.

"What, you can't be serious!?"

We turned and I had to fight hard to supress a groan, it was Mia. She stalked over to us, a strangely superior-looking smirk on her face.

She stopped and began to speak, her comments, I noticed, directed at me, acting as if Rose didn't even exist, "Did I hear right, you're actually slumming it with Christian Ozera; oh my god, you've gotta be kidding."

I glared at her. "So what if I am, what's it to you?"

She seemed momentarily surprised by my response but recovered quickly.

"Oh this is rich; the _last_ of the Dragomirs dragging the family name down, by associating with a _traitor_." Mia remarked with ill-disguised glee. "Boy, that's gonna be a hit with everyone."

Rose glowered and stepped forwards; this time I didn't even try to stop her. I honestly wanted her to sort Mia out right there. I couldn't understand the short girl's strange hatred for me.

"Back off short stuff," Rose growled. "I'm getting tired of your nonsense, now get out of here."

Mia sneered, but backed off, stalking away as Rose watched her go with a disappointed expression on her face.

We resumed our walk and Rose sighed, shrugging.

"Shame; I was almost hoping she'd give me a reason to teach her a lesson, the hard way."

I shook my head. "I don't get it, why does she hate me so much; I've never even met her before, what could I possibly have done to her?"

Rose bit her lip. "I don't know, I don't get it either. Think back, are you sure you've never met Mia, maybe, someone in your family knew her, anything?"

I shook my head; nothing occurred to me. We resumed our walk in silence, both still pondering the mystery of Mia Rinaldi's hatred for me.

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End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	5. Chapter 5

**Vampire Academy: 3****rd**** Times the Prince Charming**

Chapter 5 of my Vampire Academy story, enjoy :)

**Reviews**

**Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)  
SadisticallyDelicious: Thanks, glad you are enjoying it, here's the next chapter :)**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: Vampire Academy belongs to Richelle Mead.

* * *

**Chapter 5**

ROSE POV

I leaned back in my chair; I let out a slow sigh.

'Monday again, the boring routine repeats itself.' I thought forlornly.

Despite the boredom of having to sit through more lectures in class, I felt that today wasn't all that bad. Once this class finished I was to head for another of my training sessions with Dimitri. Yet strangely, the teacher was late; I glanced around, nobody seemed to know where he was. I wasn't the only one who had noted his absence as several people were whispering amongst themselves. I turned to Mason; deciding I might as well ask someone.

"Hey Mason, any idea why the teacher's late?"

He turned towards me and smiled before shrugging. "No idea, I'm afraid. Why?"

I shook my head. "No reason, just curious…and bored."

He laughed at that. "You're always bored Rose; you need someone to give you something interesting to think about, or do, or whatever." he replied.

I couldn't help but smirk at his comment and replied coyly. "Oh, you offering?"

Mason seemed to realize what he had said and the implications of my reply. He laughed it off, but I detected the blush on his cheeks. He hid it well, however. "You never know, maybe."

I couldn't help but smile at that. It was amazing; I could playfully flirt and engage in banter like this with Mason without any regrets. It was part of the reason why I held feelings for him as well as Dimitri, and why I felt so conflicted. We just understood each other so well, which allowed us to do things like that without either of us taking it the wrong way or our friendship being damaged as a result.

Still smiling Mason and I bantered and playfully flirted for a while, although we focused more on the banter when Eddie joined us. We were joking and laughing when suddenly he heard the approaching footsteps of the teacher; it sounded as if someone was with him which took us by surprise. We quickly composed ourselves and waited, along with the rest of the class as the teacher entered the room. I wasn't prepared for what happened next. When I saw the person with the teacher, I froze. I could feel my eyes widen but then it was as if every muscle in my body seized.

The guest was a Dhampir in her mid-to-late thirties with dark hair and dark brown eyes, the exact same shade as mine. It was my mother, Janine Hathaway. As if noticing my tension I felt Mason gently nudge my side. I managed to turn my head.

"What's wrong?" He whispered.

I gestured with my head towards our guest and whispered back, "My mom."

A look of realization crossed Mason's face and he grimaced. He knew all too well of my stormy relationship with my mother, my seething resentment of her abandoning me when I was young being the largest issue I had with her. I couldn't believe that, of all the people who showed up here, it had to be her.

As I watched, trying hard to keep the surging emotions within me from bursting forth, I overheard the teacher announce that my mom was in fact a guest lecturer. As he spoke, I saw Mom's eyes carefully observing each student in the class. When she looked towards me our eyes locked, and I could see the expression on her face change, however briefly. The thing I saw most of all wasn't regret however, but recognition and, I think, surprise.

As the teacher droned on, it turned out Mom was here to give us a more serious lecture than the usual kind. This wasn't a pre-set scenario, or hypothetical situation; mom was here to talk about the real deal. She was going to be talking to us about Strigoi attacks she had been in, ones which she had helped thwart while guarding the Szelsky family. I knew right away we were in for a serious lecture. Mom didn't waste time and was quite direct with her words, a bit like I was — I had to get it from somewhere, I suppose. So the lecture began and I listened; I had to bite my tongue several times not to blurt something out, especially when Mom's gaze drifted over to me a few times. It felt like she was judging me, seeing if I was listening to what she was saying and if I understood what she was trying to convey. I did my best to remain stoic and was more than relieved when the bell signalled the end of class.

Sadly, luck wasn't with me however; when I left class I found myself standing face to face with my mother.

"Rose." Her voice was quiet, but there was an edge to it. However, I was in no mood to deal with her right now, especially not with many old wounds being reopened just by her mere presence.

So I found myself replying, rather crudely. "Oh, you still remember my name then."

She frowned at me in…disappointment it seemed. "That's your reply, honestly…"

"What do you expect after what you did?" I snapped, instantly regretting it when I remembered we were in front of a crowd.

Mom glared at me and then spoke again, in a tone that suggested arguing would be a bad idea. "Come with me."

So I followed her, somewhat reluctantly, until she led me into a disused classroom and closed the door. The moment she did she turned to face me, glaring fiercely, and even though I was good few inches taller than her, I felt myself shrink back.

"I expected better of you Rose, the way you behaved was ridiculous," she said in a dangerous tone of voice. "How old are you?"

I glared at that; it was clearly a trick question, because there was no way she had forgotten my age. I frowned and then replied, "Seventeen."

Mom nodded and then remarked, "Well I'm really disappointed in you; the way you behaved was something I'd expect from a five year old."

I glared at that; she was disappointed, but what about me? I knew I was pushing my luck but my anger won out over my self-restraint. "You're disappointed in me," I snapped. "What gives you the right?"

She replied primly, "I'm your mother…"

It was then I pushed things too far. "You sure never acted like it; you _abandoned_ me, you left me all alone while you ran off to seek your own glory! Being a mother must've been _too much_ for you. Let me guess, you never wanted me, right?"

I could see that, with that outburst, I had come within inches of pushing my mother over the edge and possibly causing the fight we were having to come to blows. Instead, with supreme effort, my mom composed herself and spoke to me, in a voice that threated to become a shout with every syllable.

"You have no idea Rosemarie." That was how angry she was, the few times we communicated, she never called me by my full name. "You don't know what I've given up, the _sacrifices_ I've had to make, that _all_ Guardians make. You don't understand the true horror of what we face and until you do, you have no right to lecture me."

With that she turned and began to stalk out, but then she stopped at the door however and added, "Better hurry, don't want to be late for your remedial training sessions."

I glared at that but after she left I realized she was right. I quickly rushed out of the classroom towards the gym, where Dimitri would be waiting.

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End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please :)


	6. Chapter 6

**Vampire Academy: 3****rd**** Times the Prince Charming**

Chapter 6 of my Vampire Academy story, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)  
SadisticallyDelicious: You misjudge her terribly, Rose was in fact completely out of line and just like her, you don't know what Janine's had to give up. Well, this story is part one of a trilogy so all I'll say about the pairing is, not yet. She goes through two relationships before Dimitri.**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: Vampire Academy belongs to Richelle Mead.

* * *

**Chapter 6**

DIMITRI POV

I sighed and tried again to focus on the report I was filling out. It was a typical report following a night spent on patrol. Pulling an all-nighter always was a strain when it came to filling out reports and such. It was harder to focus, but it had to be done; it was work, after all. Finally, despite taking longer than it should have, I finished the report and filed it away. Later, once called, I would take the report to Kirova. I sank back in my chair and let out a slow, careful breath. I had to be ready; Rose would be here soon for her training session. Just then a knock at the door caught my attention. I glanced at the clock; it was too early for Rose's lesson. I straightened up and cleared my throat.

"Come in," I called out, trying hard not to sound as tired as I felt.

The person who entered was a woman, a Moroi in her twenties with a raven-black mane of hair and large pale blue eyes; she had the typical pale skin of the Moroi and, across her left cheek, raised purple scars. I recognized her right away; she was a good friend of mine and well known, sadly for the wrong reasons, throughout the Moroi world. It was Natasha Ozera.

I smiled and allowed myself to relax slightly.

"Tasha; good to see you again; may I ask what brings you here?" I asked her politely.

I noticed that, surprisingly, her usual good humour wasn't there. Nor was her carefree smile; instead, she looked serious and worried about something. I was immediately on the alert, especially when she actually looked behind her carefully before closing the door, as if checking she wasn't being followed. Almost immediately worry began to gnaw away at me; what had her so worked up that she was acting so furtive?

I cleared my throat and then asked, "What's wrong Tasha, you're acting…strangely."

She turned to face me and her question, I'll admit, surprised me. "Is there anyone who can hear us, anyone nearby?"

"No," I replied warily.

She sighed and then explained. "I'd rather nobody knew what I was saying, if the wrong people hear, well, I'm worried, something's going on Dimitri."

I remained seated, watching her carefully, listening, waiting to hear what she had to say, since it sounded serious. Seeing that I was waiting she continued.

"There have been whispers, more than just your typical court gossip," She explained quietly. "It appears to be rumours but I…I feel that it is real. There's a group of Moroi in the school; they seem to be planning something. What's more, one night, I swore I heard people, practicing magic."

I shook my head. "Tasha I…"

But she wasn't finished. "No, Dimitri, you don't understand, the way they were practicing it — the timing, and the location, it was too close to source of the school's wards, at the one time they were unprotected. Using magic like that, there…"

I froze as it slowly dawned on me what Tasha was saying. What worried me the most, however, was that it didn't make sense.

"Are you absolutely certain about this Tasha?" I asked carefully.

She nodded slowly. "It's just rumours, I have no proof, but I'm sure of it…What I don't understand is why, what could they benefit from destroying the school's wards, that would leave us vulnerable to the Strigoi. I can't think of anyone here who would want that?"

I pondered for a moment. "Unless...maybe they don't know just how close they are to the wards."

Tasha nodded. "I have considered that; but then why would they be there and if this is a plot, who is behind it and why?"

There were a lot of unanswered questions, but this did worry me and I trusted Tasha enough to believe her that it was real and that something was going on. Hopefully it wasn't anything sinister; nothing more than a group of Moroi trying to get extra practice for their magic and just choosing a poor location, but it always paid to err on the side of caution. I glanced at the clock again and frowned; Rose was late. I stood up and stepped around my desk.

"If anything else comes up, please let me know. I'll see what I can do, but until we know for certain what's going on, our hands are tied." I told her. "I have something I need to do right now but, we'll talk about this later, okay."

Tasha nodded. "Thank you; I'll be sure to keep my ears open."

With that she left the office. While worried about what she said I had to push those thoughts back and focus on the now. Luckily being a guardian meant I was easily able to compartmentalize.

As I left the officer I could hear Tasha talking to someone, as I approached I recognized the other voice; it was Rose.

"Oh, you must be Rosemarie Hathaway." Tasha was saying, her old friendliness back.

"Uh yeah, who are you?" Rose replied, sounding dubious.

I noticed the edge in her voice and sighed; she was in a bad mood, and that never boded well. If Tasha noticed it she gave no sign.

She replied casually. "I'm Natasha Ozera; I'm a friend of Dimitri's."

"Oh, right." Rose's response was less edgy this time; she was calming down from what was bothering her.

"So, Rosemarie…"

"I prefer Rose, please." I smiled at that and finally turned the corner where I saw them talking. I cleared my throat to announce my presence; Rose smiled and said goodbye to Tasha who left, smiling as she did so. Rose and I headed for the gym; once Rose was warmed up and ready we began. Before we did, however, I turned to Rose.

"You were late," I stated simply, raising an eyebrow as I waited for her to reply.

Rose sighed. "Yeah, sorry; it's just…" She sighed again and then told me what happened, about her confrontation with her mother and the things they said. It was only then I realized just how little Rose knew about Janine. I'd have to try and talk to them both and convince them to talk, to try and rectify that someday. For now, we needed to focus on Rose's training.

When we finally finished and Rose was changed again, I was filling out another report, this time one on Rose's performance.

"So?" She asked as she stood waiting for me to speak. "How did I do?"

I looked up and smiled. "Improving all the time; although not quick enough for Kirova's tastes."

Rose rolled her eyes. "Like she'll ever be satisfied with what I do."

"You'd be surprised." I remarked but Rose merely shook her head.

Finally she sighed. "Well, I better go, before my curfew sets in."

I nodded and she left. I knew I shouldn't but I couldn't help myself, I watched her go, a strange sense of emptiness and longing growing in my chest. I quickly shook myself out of my current state.

'What is wrong with me?' I thought angrily. 'I shouldn't be feeling like this; even if I wanted too, we can't. She's much younger than I am, a student, I'm supposed to be teaching her; besides that, it's forbidden.'

Shaking my head I forced myself to focus on Rose's report and then, hopefully, unless there was more work for me to do, I could take a nap and recover. No doubt all these strange feelings were coming from lack of sleep. I hoped. After that, there was the problem Tasha had explained to me, which I'd have to start thinking about that, too, and soon, if it was truly as bad as Tasha feared.

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End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	7. Chapter 7

**Vampire Academy: 3****rd**** Times the Prince Charming**

Chapter 7 of my Vampire Academy story, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)  
SadisticallyDelicious: You didn't offend me, I was just letting you know. Here you go.**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: Vampire Academy belongs to Richelle Mead.

* * *

**Chapter 7**

LISSA POV

I sighed as I sat back in my seat. I was trying hard not to let my boredom show on my face as I sat with the other royals in our typical after school Royals meeting. In all honesty I'd rather be anywhere but here, but as the last of the Dragomirs I was obligated to remain here and try and keep up with any court business. At least that was the theory, but for the few times I had found myself sequestered in this room with the other royals I didn't hear one word of court business – court gossip, on the other hand, or even just general gossip, was in plentiful supply. In some cases it sickened me the way they casually talked about other people's lives and joked about or derided other people's decisions, like it was their business or place to judge. Other times it just bored me, like now.

I felt eyes on me and looked around, curious. I then saw who was looking at me and shifted uncomfortably. The person who had been staring at me, with such contempt in her eyes, was a Moroi girl of eighteen with waist length brown hair and hazel eyes; she was considered extremely beautiful, even by Moroi standards. I knew her name was Veronica Lazar and that, in the event of the current queen dying, she was the one from her family most eligible to try and claim the throne.

I fought to keep my expression neutral as Veronica glared at me. I knew she looked down on me, due to my status as the last Dragomir; she felt immediately I was a lost cause and I head heard her openly questioning why I was still permitted to be with the royals. Her open contempt stemmed from some family dispute from a while back and also, from what I could gather, a matter of jealousy regarding my brother Andre. It dismayed me to know that despite my hard efforts of trying to remain unnoticed, I had still attracted unwanted attention. Needing to distract myself I turned to Aaron who was sitting next to me.

"Aaron." I said softly.

He seemed distracted by something but my voice seemed to catch his attention and he turned to me, smiling. "Yes, are you okay?"

I sighed and shook my head. "I'm just a little, uncomfortable. I've never liked listening to such…gossip and…"

Aaron smiled kindly and nodded. "I understand; listen, if you want I could distract them, then you could slip out. I'd join you but…"

I smiled back. "I get it; don't worry. And thanks; that would be great, could you?"

He nodded and immediately began talking to several of the other Royals. It grew into a debate between the Royals and everybody, even Veronica's eyes were drawn to it. This was my chance; I slipped out of the room and hurried to put as much distance between myself and that crowd as possible.

I continued to walk; my feet taking me away automatically. I was outside the church before I realized I had come to try and hide in the attic and get some time to myself. I briefly wondered if Christian was there before the thought was pushed from my mind.

"What the hell, what are you doing here, Princess?" I heard the distinctive voice of Mia Rinaldi calling out.

I turned and saw her stalking towards me, glaring. I remained motionless, wondering what she would do or try to argue about now.

"What are you doing here?" she asked with great hostility. "Shouldn't you be with the other Royals right now?"

I sighed. "I just didn't feel like it, now please, excuse me."

But Mia didn't let it go. "Oh really; so running from your responsibilities. I shouldn't be surprised, I suppose, you Dragomir's are good at that after all."

I was shocked by this; it wasn't enough for her to mock me, she had to insult my family now?

"I would've thought, as the last Dragomir, you'd be forced to take responsibility but no, you're just as bad as the rest of your family. You couldn't even handle what was expected from you. Is that why you ran away?"

I shook my head, this was getting ridiculous. "What is wrong with you; why do you keep doing this?! I never did anything to you!" I just snapped and suddenly, I saw her glare and knew that somehow, what I said had made things worse.

She immediately closed the gap between us; glaring and, despite being taller, I felt intimidated by her sudden aggression.

"You _bitch_, don't you dare, don't you _dare_ pretend you don't know." She snarled viciously. "You think you can just act as if you had nothing to do with it? You're just as bad as all of them! You act like you're so _innocent; _well, you're not, I swear you…"

It was then another voice spoke up, intruding on Mia's rant. "Hey, whoa, what's going on here? I could hear you before I even left the main building."

I looked up and Mia spun around. It was Christian. Mia looked from Christian to me and back again before sneering at me.

"Oh, I see, I get it now. What your dear boyfriend would say if he knew…" Mia began but Christian cut her off.

"That's enough, leave it, just go Mia."

She scoffed before staking away. I let out a slow breath as Christian turned to me. I couldn't help but notice his blazer seemed to be 'missing' but otherwise he was still in the school uniform.

He smiled. "Are you okay?" I nodded slowly.

"What is wrong with her? Why is she so cruel to me?" I said, dismayed "I never did anything to her – I don't even _know_ her."

He sighed and shook his head. "It's not you specifically she's angry at, it's the Dragomirs, but…since you're the last one alive, you're the one bearing the brunt of her anger."

"But why?"

He turned away. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

What I couldn't believe was this. He tells me that Mia's angry at my family and then expects me to leave it at that? I quickly grabbed his arm and turned him around to face me. He seemed surprised by my sudden action; before he could say anything, however, I said, "Don't just say something then stop; tell me."

He shook his head. "No, I can't, like I said…"

I glared. "I wouldn't believe you. Yeah, try me." Then I softened my tone. "Please, I have to know."

He sighed and suddenly seemed uncomfortable. For one normally so relaxed he was suddenly so awkward.

"Alright, alright," He said finally, certainly awkward. "It…It has to do with your brother."

"Andre?"

He nodded. "He and Mia used to date…But then; he…"

I cringed as he said that, thinking I knew what he meant. "He died, but I didn't?"

"No." Was all Christian said in reply. "He…He slept with her; then, then he broke up with her, rather harshly I should add."

I froze; staring at him in disbelief; I couldn't believe it, I couldn't possibly have heard him right.

"What, no, that's…"

"I told you." He stated simply. "You wouldn't…"

He stopped short and stumbled back. It was only after it happened that I realized I had slapped him. By then my anger was out of control.

"How dare you!" I shrieked. "My brother would never…You would dishonour his memory by lying about him!"

Christian glared and shook his head. He opened his mouth but I cut him off again.

"No, I don't want to hear it; I can't believe you'd lie to me like this!"

I turned and ran, not caring about Christian calling out to me. I didn't care where he was, I just wanted to find Aaron.

I wasn't sure how late it was, but I stumbled back into the common room, still numb with disbelief. No matter how hard I searched I couldn't find Aaron anywhere and now it was too late to talk to him. I slumped down on the sofa and buried my face in my hands. The anger I felt at Christian was almost unbearable. I couldn't believe he'd lie like that, especially about my brother and to my face as well. It was then I heard footsteps, and I immediately straightened up, composing myself. But it was Rose, the one person who didn't expect me to act perfectly all the time. I let out a sigh of relief as she approached. I vaguely noticed she was dressed for bed and I realized I was still in my uniform; a lot of time had passed it seemed.

"Lissa, what's wrong, are you okay?" She asked; I could hear the concern in her voice.

I sighed and shook my head. "Oh god, Rose; it's, it's just…I don't know. I don't know how to even begin."

Rose sat down next to me. "Tell me about it, from the beginning."

I sighed again, but I knew I could trust her. So I told Rose about what happened. By the end I was in tears while Rose embraced me.

"I…I just…I can't, I can't believe…" I choked out.

"Shh, it's okay." Rose said softly. "Just relax, you'll feel better in the morning. Try not to think about this, okay."

I agreed; still feeling miserable, but allowed Rose to calm me down. I quickly headed upstairs afterwards and got ready for bed. Rose may have been comfortable to simply wear a tank top and panties to bed, but I was more demure, my pyjamas consisting of a knee length lime green silk nightgown. I lay down and, despite the memories of what Christian said rushing through my mind, I finally, fitfully, found sleep.

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End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	8. Chapter 8

**Vampire Academy: 3****rd**** Times the Prince Charming**

Chapter 8 of my Vampire Academy story, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Wolfgirl2013: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it :)  
SadisticallyDelicious: No she doesn't, she only knows him the same way Lissa does. Thanks, glad you enjoyed it :)**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: Vampire Academy belongs to Richelle Mead.

* * *

**Chapter 8**

CHRISTIAN POV

I sighed as I sank into the worn old armchair which was stashed in a corner of the attic. My mind was full with what had just happened. I knew the Dragomir Princess would react badly to the news about her brother, but not this badly.

'How could she possibly be so blind?' I thought, shaking my head. 'Denial? No, it's more like she really doesn't believe her brother capable of what he did.'

Quite frankly, I was surprised at that; she truly felt her brother was everything she thought he was.

'There's no denying it; Andre Dragomir was everything Lissa thought he was; but that didn't stop him from acting the way he did…I told her she wouldn't like the truth, never expected her to outright deny it though.'

I still couldn't understand that part, why she denied it so completely. Was it because I had told her; maybe the _way_ I had told her. Anyone else would probably have eased into it, or lied about it. I couldn't help that. I knew the way I had told her was blunt, but I wasn't about to lie and as for easing into it, well, I couldn't see a possible way that could work. I checked my watch; curfew was going to set in soon and I really wasn't in the mood to push my luck by staying out too late today, so I quickly got up and left the church attic.

As I was walking back through the main building I could see some of the other students still walking around. They were all in a hurry, heading back to their dorms before curfew, no doubt. However soon I was amongst them and the whispering started; I fought the urge to roll my eyes. Once again I could see them stealing glances at me and whispering to those next to them.

'Ugh, here we go again.' I thought bitterly. 'Honestly, you'd think these people would get a new hobby…And some new material, I've heard all this god knows how many times before.'

It was true, all people ever spoke of when they saw me was my parents and their actions. A few mentioned their beliefs that I would follow in their footsteps too. How wrong they were; I would never sink that low. When I had heard about what my parents had done, I had been horrified. That was why I rejected them; I could never consider them my parents anymore, not when they betrayed, not just the Moroi, but me like that. However I soon found my path blocked; I sighed and this time, I really did roll my eyes when I saw who had decided to torment me now. It was Jesse Zeklos and his friend, Ralf.

"Well, well, the Strigoi wannabe; still disgracing us with his presence, I see." Jesse taunted with his usual superior smirk.

I wasn't in the mood so I merely pushed past him calling over my shoulder. "Boring, heard it all before."

I ignored any attempt he may have tried at a follow up comment and continued towards my dorm.

When I arrived I saw someone knocking on my door. I smiled and hurried over.

"Hey, I'm over here." I said as I approached.

The figure turned and I saw who it was; it was my aunt, Tasha. She smiled as she saw me. "Christian, there you are. I was looking for you."

I tilted my head, confused. "How come?"

"I have something for you, here." She replied, holding out her hand.

I took the object she offered me and looked at it. I had to supress a gasp. It was a silver necklace with a pendant on the end; the pendant was engraved with our family crest. I knew right away what it was.

"This was my grandfather's, the family heirloom." I whispered.

Tasha nodded, smiling. "I remember you liked it, always talking about it. It's yours now."

I looked up at her in surprise but then thanked her. I thought that was it but then suddenly she asked. "What's wrong, you look, upset about something."

I shook my head, knowing it would be useless to hide it and told her all about the situation that had occurred with Lissa Dragomir. When I finished I could see my aunt was thinking; she was also looking at me curiously. I wondered just what could've made her do that. I soon found out.

"Well, I know you are usually direct when speaking, but…" She paused and then, finding the words, continued. "Maybe being a bit more tactful; breaking it to her gently would've been better."

I sighed. I should've guessed something like that; but that still didn't explain the strange look she gave me. However her next words fully explained it and surprised me greatly.

She smirked and asked. "So Christian, how long have you been harbouring feelings for Princess Dragomir?"

I froze, and I swear I could feel myself blushing. The strange part was, despite being about to deny it; I realized it was true. I shook my head. "I…I just, you know I can't…" But all my protests died before they even started. I could see it clearly on my aunt's face; she knew how I felt and no excuse would cover it.

"Yes, alright, I'm not sure when I started…having feelings for her but; I do." I said at last before shaking my head. "It's not as if it matters anyway, she hates me now and she already has someone."

Tasha laughed at that. "Oh really, and you're going to let that stop you. I'm going to let you in on a little secret, despite how they act, things between Lissa and Aaron aren't perfect. If something bad were to happen, they would just fall apart. Who knows, maybe at that time, she'd appreciate someone to talk to; even despite you telling her about her brother."

"That sounds like I'm taking advantage of her grief." I replied glumly.

Tasha shrugged and simply said. "I'm giving you advice, make of it what you will, and do what you want. Anyway, it's late, you should get to bed. I'll see if I can't stop by tomorrow."

I thanked her and headed into my dorm room as she left. Predictably the dorm was empty, as I had no dorm mate because nobody wanted to even come near me. I got changed into the simple black sweatpants I wore as pyjamas in the summer and climbed into bed, wondering if I should try and find and make things right with Lissa tomorrow before finally drifting off to sleep.

The following day, however, I still hadn't figured anything out. I quickly got dressed and, knowing the peace and quiet would help me think, I decided to head back to the church attic. I endured the whispering, briefly wondering how many of them would still whisper if they knew that, by ignoring me, they had allowed me to observe all of them and learn certain secrets about them all. It sure would change things. But right now, I wasn't in the mood for that.

I let out a sigh of relief as I approached the church, but that quickly changed to trepidation and I began fingering the family necklace I was now wearing, as if it would bring me luck. I noticed a figure bearing down on me and recognized her instantly. It was a girl, who I already knew from both observation and her reputation, she was here about the incident involving Lissa yesterday, I was certain of it. After all, it was none other than Rosemarie Hathaway.

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End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	9. Chapter 9

**Vampire Academy: 3****rd**** Times the Prince Charming**

Chapter 9 of my Vampire Academy story, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Wolfgirl2013: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it :)  
SadisticallyDelicious: Well, read on to see the result, glad you enjoyed it :)**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: Vampire Academy belongs to Richelle Mead.

* * *

**Chapter 9**

ROSE POV

I couldn't believe the nerve of that asshole, Christian Ozera. For him to slander Lissa's brother like that, especially with such blatant lies. I had seen how badly he upset her and I wasn't going to stand for it. The first thing I did after getting dressed that morning was check on Lissa. She was currently okay and was safe with Aaron. I hadn't told her what I had planned; I didn't want to worry her unnecessarily.

'When I find that asshole, I swear he'll wish he'd never been born,' I swore to myself angrily as I left and began my search.

I intended to hunt down Christian. I was going to let him know just how badly he'd hurt Lissa and make him apologize to her. I stopped for a moment, keeping my rage under control while I tried to think.

I racked my brains trying to think where I could find Christian. 'I don't know his routine well enough. If I start asking around, or if I even try searching for his room, it'll cause too many awkward questions and draw too much attention.' Then suddenly it came to me. 'Wait a minute, the place he and Lissa usually meet, he said he hangs out there a lot. I might as well see if he's there, it's the best lead I have.'

So I began to hurry towards the church, determined to catch Christian and make him pay.

I soon reached the church and saw my chance as I spotted Christian approaching it. Glaring, I advanced towards him; as I drew closer I saw him clutching something at his neck as he gazed solidly back at me. I stopped mere inches from him, glaring viciously.

"You, how dare you!" I growled at him. "You asshole, do you honestly think I wouldn't find out, that you'd get away with it?!"

To his credit Christian didn't step back; he merely gazed back at me levelly and replied. "Whoa, slow down, what are you talking about?"

I grabbed him by his shirt and snarled. "You know damn well what I'm talking about, what you said to Lissa, those…_lies_ you told her!"

His eyes hardened and he shook his head. "I didn't lie; it's not my fault she can't handle the truth, I told her…"

"Shut up!" I cut him off. "Do you honestly think you can get away with this?"

Christian pulled himself free and sighed. "I swear; you're just as blind as she is. You think you know Andre Dragomir. But you never saw his private side, only the side of him he _wanted_ you to see, what _you_ wanted to see."

Before he could say anything else, and before I could form any retort, we heard footsteps approaching and spun around to face the owner, wondering who was coming.

We soon got our answer when Mason hurried up to us. I bit my lip, wondering just how much of the argument he had heard. It was clear however he had heard enough when he spoke.

"Hey, c'mon you guys, calm down. What if someone else comes along?" He remarked. "Can't have people seeing you guys arguing like this; especially you Rose, remember."

I blushed as I realized what Mason meant, my probation, incidents like this would not look favourably on me due to it. However my temper flared again when Christian shrugged and stated, "Well, since you can calm her down, I'll leave her to you. Now, excuse me…"

I glared at him. "Where do you think you're going…?" But Mason touched my shoulder and shook his head.

"Leave it Rose." I scowled but did as he said and remained silent while Christian walked away. Once he was gone I turned to Mason.

"What the hell Mase, what was that about, I get why you stopped me, but if you knew…?" I began, but Mason shook his head. He sighed sadly and then revealed,

"I know Rose…You'll probably hate me for it but, I have to tell you, what Christian said was true, every word." I stood frozen, staring in disbelief at what had just been said. I couldn't believe it; Mason could not have just said that.

"Wh-what, you can't be serious?" I gasped. "Mason, why would you say that, why defend him…?"

Mason just shook his head. The worst part was I didn't know what to say. I knew Mason would never lie to me, especially not about something big. But this, this went against everything I knew. If Christian was right, I didn't even know what to think.

Finally I sighed and took a deep breath, trying to calm down. "Okay Mason, slowly, tell me now, I want the truth."

Mason nodded. "What Christian said about Andre and Mia was true Rose; I know about it too. I just…never had the heart to tell Lissa."

I groaned. I could see clearly Mason wasn't lying, yet all this was just too much to take.

"Rose?" Mason asked, concerned by my lack of response.

I shook my head and began to walk away from the church, Mason following me. "This is just too much, I need a distraction, maybe I'll be able to work it out better when I'm not so worked up."

"Um, okay, what do you suggest?"

I smirked and then replied. "I could always go to the practice grounds and knock hell out the training dummies." Mason sighed at that but agreed to accompany me, so we headed off to the practice grounds to do just that.

Sometime later I was back in my dorm, more relaxed. I was thinking about what had been revealed. The spontaneous training session with Mason had served well; I felt a lot calmer and was able to deal with the revelation of Andre's true actions more rationally. The more I thought about it, the more horrified I was to realize that there had actually been signs of what he was doing. I was just too wilfully blind to notice them, just as Lissa had been. I wondered just how to break this news to Lissa; it wasn't going to be easy, but it would have to be done sometime.

Wanting to distract myself from thoughts of that unpleasant task I instead thought of the training session with Mason. It had actually been fun, I hadn't let loose in ages and Mason seemed an ideal training partner. Of course that also got me thinking about my conflicting feelings regarding Mason and Dimitri, so I quickly stopped. I shook my head and groaned.

'Why can't anything be simple?' I wondered in reflection of my problems.

Still, no matter what happened, I knew now, I would have to change things. Certainly now I had a new perspective, but one thing I was certain of: Just because I knew the truth about Andre, didn't stop him being a good person, and that was what was important in the end.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	10. Chapter 10

**Vampire Academy: 3****rd**** Times the Prince Charming**

Chapter 11 of my Vampire Academy story, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)  
SadisticallyDelicious: Yeah, she's going to need it, glad you are still enjoying it.**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: Vampire Academy belongs to Richelle Mead.

* * *

**Chapter 10**

DIMITRI POV

I continued to set up the gym for Rose's next lesson. I was impressed; she had improved greatly over the past few months. I briefly wondered exactly how much longer Kirova wanted us to continue this arrangement. When I had sent the reports of Rose's progress to her she had simply said that it was good enough and to continue. In truth I felt that Rose didn't need extra training now, since she had covered everything that she had missed and made up for lost time. I wondered just what Kirova wanted. Why was she having me continue to train Rose if that was the case? The more I thought about it, the less sense it made to be honest. Still, I wasn't going to question it, despite how awkward it felt for me. That strange feeling I always felt around Rose seemed to grow every day. I was worried about it, yet for some reason it didn't feel…unpleasant.

'It's almost as if I…No, that can't be it,' I thought to myself, quickly pushing away the disturbing thought. 'I can't, even if I wanted to, so many reasons…'

As if things weren't difficult enough, now I had this cropping up in my mind. I shook my head to clear it and focused instead on my current task.

I was busy working when suddenly I heard something behind me, people approaching. I stood and turned, wary, a by-product of my training; I had to assume just about anyone was a threat. However I allowed myself to relax when I saw that I recognized both people. It was Tasha and with her was Janine Hathaway. I straightened up and walked over to meet them halfway. I smiled although I noticed that Tasha seemed just as worried, if not more so, than the last time she had spoken to me.

"Hello Tasha, Janine." I greeted them.

Tasha smiled although it didn't reach her eyes. "Dimitri, it's good to see you again."

Janine just nodded, she looked tenser than I had ever seen her. All she offered by way of greeting was simply, "Guardian Belikov." I was about to speak when Tasha quickly exclaimed,

"Dimitri, we need to talk, it's about what I told you before."

I tensed, recalling the conversation; I warily glanced over at Janine before speaking. "Are you sure we should."

Janine however shook her head. "It is quite alright, I have already been informed of her concerns. You should really hear this; it's…disturbing, to say the least."

I fought back a groan; more problems. This situation that Tasha had brought to my attention seemed to be going from bad to worse. "What's happened?" I asked cautiously.

Tasha seemed to weigh her words before replying. "It seems that, after my last visit, this group has been meeting more regularly. I still can't get close enough to see any of them, but…The way some of them are talking, Dimitri, it definitely seems like they're Royals."

It was the worst possible news; bad enough we had Moroi possible tampering with our wards, but to be Royals on top of that. I could already see the scandal forming. I thought that would be all, but then Janine spoke up and revealed another worry.

"That's not the only issue. After Tasha shared this information with me, I took it upon myself to examine the wards…They still stand, but they have been damaged, weakened."

I knew all too well what this meant. We would have to be careful, either that or act at once and risk the scandal. If the wards were already damaged, then another incident like this could destroy them.

"I'm worried Dimitri." Tasha said quickly. "If this gets out, it could cause some serious problems, but if we don't do something, so many people are at risk."

"I agree; it may be a case of sacrificing a few to save many." Janine added. "In this case, a few reputations, for people's lives."

I pondered deeply and finally reached a decision. "Our best bet, is not to act too hasty, but still be prepared. I will speak to the other Guardians, see if I can find a way to convince them to increase patrols in that area, at least until we have more direct answers."

Janine agreed. "Yes; we don't want to rush into this, or it won't just be ruined reputations or burned fingers we need to worry about."

"Are you sure about this?" Tasha asked.

"The pot's already full, don't add more gold and upset it unless you know you don't have a choice." Janine explained. "If we do anything to upset the Royals it's likely to go all the way to the Court and then everything will fall apart."

Tasha accepted that and, after a few more quick words she left.

I was about to get back to work when I noticed Janine lingering. I waited for her to say something but nothing happened. So I decided to try and ease the situation.

"Is there something on your mind Janine?"

She sighed and shook her head. "Not really. So, Rose will be here for one of her extra training lessons then?"

"Yes." I replied before shaking my head. "Janine, what is bothering you; you're not normally this wound up."

Janine let out another sigh and finally exclaimed. "Rose. That girl; did she tell you, about the last time we spoke?"

I had a feeling it would be something like this. "If you are referring to the time when you came to give a guest lecture and the two of you ended up arguing, then yes."

"I just can't believe her, the way she acts." Janine remarked. "She acts as if what happened was all my fault, like I choose to abandon her, despite knowing that…"

I narrowed my eyes at that and cut across her. "Janine, did you actually tell Rose why you abandoned her?"

She stopped at that and glared at me. "No, I never got a chance to; besides, she's been told by…" I shook my head.

"No, she hasn't. Nobody has told her about it, Janine. She has no idea about the real reason."

Janine froze as my words sunk in, realizing just how wrong she had been and just how little Rose actually knew. I could see her running it over in her mind, then she groaned, covering her eyes with a hand.

"I don't believe this." She muttered. "Of all the…Just great. And all this time I thought...thought that she knew."

I nodded. "Maybe you should talk to her, tell her the truth. I think it's time she knew."

Janine agreed, "Yes, you're right; but, she has her lesson with you, maybe I should wait…"

"No, the sooner the better. Talk to her before she gets ready for our lesson. I can wait." I told her immediately.

Janine agreed to that and left the gym to wait for Rose. Meanwhile I resumed getting everything ready, although in the back of my mind I was worried about Tasha's revelation. Things were going to be more dangerous now. I'd have to be constantly on my guard.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	11. Chapter 11

**Vampire Academy: 3****rd**** Times the Prince Charming**

Chapter 11 of my Vampire Academy story, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)  
SadisticallyDelicious: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it, yeah, sure is :)**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: Vampire Academy belongs to Richelle Mead.

* * *

**Chapter 11**

ROSE POV

I rushed through the corridors, mentally cursing to myself; I was late for my training session. I hadn't been late for a long time, and I didn't want to end up ruining that. I couldn't help but think that maybe I wouldn't need a warm up for this session, I was getting it already.

'Dammit, c'mon, c'mon,' I thought desperately. 'Nearly there; c'mon; still got a few minutes, I can get there.'

As I drew closer however, I saw someone standing outside the office. It was my mother. She looked up, directly at me; I slowed down to a walk. I was trying to catch my breath, but it wasn't easy, as the tension was already building and I could swear my heart was going way too fast. I wondered briefly what my mother was doing here, but my thoughts were mostly consumed by wondering how long it would be before we started arguing again. However I noticed something different, that usual detachment that mom always seemed to have wasn't there. In fact, she looked awkward. I slowly approached her; once again my curiosity was rising, and this time it wasn't overshadowed by concerns about us arguing; I just was anxious to find out why mom was here and what was bothering her.

I stopped just in front of her.

"Mom…" I began, suddenly feeling awkward myself. "What…What are you doing here, I didn't think…?"

Mom sighed and shook her head. "I was talking with Tasha and Dimitri."

That caught my attention. Tasha had been to see Dimitri before; there was definitely a pattern forming, and a suspicious one at that.

As if knowing what I was thinking mom shook her head. "Don't ask what's going on Rose; I cannot tell you, not because I don't want to, but because I don't know myself exactly what's happening." I nodded slowly, I couldn't fault mom for that.

"Well, can you at least give me a hint?" I asked cautiously.

Mom sighed and pondered for a moment before replying. "There is something going on at night; whatever it is, it's putting us all in danger." She looked at me seriously. "So you better ensure you put in every possible effort and keep Princess Dragomir safe."

I nodded. "You don't have to tell me that; I would never let anything happen to Lissa."

Mom nodded back; I then remembered. "Oh, I'm late." However before I could move mom shook her head and stopped me.

"Rose, I need to talk to you; I already spoke to Dimitri, he knows you'll be late."

I was tense again. What did mom want, that she suddenly wanted to talk to me? Concerned, I followed her into the office.

There was a long and uncomfortable silence during which I noticed mom seemed to be struggling; as if she couldn't find the words she wanted to say. I shifted awkwardly and it was then I realized just how much distance there was between us. I barely knew anything about her, had no idea what could be troubling her like this. I actually felt ashamed about it. The silence still stretched out and I shifted my feet uncomfortably, wiping my hands on my skirt. Finally, however, mom sighed and then spoke.

"I always thought you knew the truth about why…why I never raised you myself. I realize now I was wrong, but, I must tell you right now Rose. I _never_ abandoned you, not by choice."

That caught me off-guard. I had been about to protest when she said those last three words.

'Not by choice? What, what does she mean?' I wondered to myself before clearing my throat. "What are you talking about mom, what happened exactly?"

She let out a slow careful breath before replying. "I wasn't always a Guardian for the Szelksky family. My first Guardian duty was for a single Moroi, Ibrahim Mazur." She paused and looked at me seriously. "Your father. After I found out I was pregnant, the Royal Court recalled me and assigned Ibrahim a new Guardian."

To say I was shocked by what I heard would be an understatement. "Wait, why was I never told about my father, why couldn't I…?"

Mom shook her head. "He's involved in some activities that aren't…strictly legal, and I didn't want you being raised in that sort of atmosphere. The truth of the matter, Rose, is that I _did_ want you, more than anything. But I couldn't keep you."

That was yet another surprise. She "couldn't" keep me? It was then I noticed that mom was actually trembling and seemed to be holding back tears. "Mom…" I began gently, then trailed off, unsure how to continue.

She took a moment to compose herself and continued. "I was assigned to guard the Szelksky family, an important Royal family. They felt that…having a child to raise would be a…_distraction_." She spat the word out as if it was poison. "So they decided to take you away and have you raised by someone else almost immediately after you were born…I never, I never even got to hold you."

It was then the tears that mom had been holding back spilled forth; hearing all this I couldn't help but cry too, especially as I now knew the truth. Mom's indifference towards me was actually forced; she did care, but I had been taken away before she could even form any sort of connection. As such she didn't know what to do, any more than I did. Acting on impulse I immediately threw my arms around mom as she did the same, also embracing me as we both let our tears fall. We finally calmed down and I pulled back.

"Mom, I…I just…I didn't…"

Mom shook her head. "We've both made mistakes; what's important is that we now make up for them." I nodded and finally we stepped apart.

Mom then made a suggestion. "Let's talk to Dimitri, see if I can take this training lesson."

I was surprised by this but agreed and we headed into the gym. We spoke to Dimitri who agreed to our suggestion and I quickly went to get ready.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	12. Chapter 12

**Vampire Academy: 3****rd**** Times the Prince Charming**

Chapter 12 of my Vampire Academy story, enjoy :)

**Reviews**

**Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)  
SadisticallyDelicious: Yeah, it's pretty sad; it was indeed very hard on Janine.  
justkindaannoyed: I'm glad you enjoyed it; I try my hardest, I hope the rest of the fic continues to please.**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: Vampire Academy belongs to Richelle Mead.

* * *

**Chapter 12**

CHRISTIAN POV

I pulled myself through the water, enjoying the sensation of how it felt as I swam, and the way sounds carried differently. Finally, needing air, I pulled myself up, breaking through the surface of the water and gasping for breath. I blinked the water out of my eyes and swam over to the edge of the pool. Once there I leaned my arms against the ledge as I looked around the pool. A lot of fellow classmates and other students from the school also occupied the pool. We were currently using the school's pool, and therefore were clad in school provided swimwear. For boys, this consisted of a red speedo; for girls it was a black one piece swimsuit; with both of us being given the option of having a swimming cap if we wanted. I didn't wear one however; never felt the need to.

As usual people gave me a wide berth; a few of them had been nearby when I had surfaced but now they were some distance away, having swam away the moment they saw me come up from under the water. I sighed, allowing myself to relax and let the tension ease out of my muscles. As usual, while everybody ignored me, I paid attention to them. I observed the others in the pool; in much the same way as I usually did.

I could see only a few people were using the pool for actual swimming; most of the others were simply floating around in groups, talking. My heart and stomach clenched as I spotted Lissa; she was currently talking to Rose. I vaguely wondered what they were talking about, but wasn't close enough to hear and couldn't see their faces properly. With them was another Moroi girl who I recognized as Natalie Dashkov, the daughter of renowned Moroi Royal Victor Dashkov. Lissa's boyfriend Aaron was also nearby, although I couldn't help but feel suspicious as I watched him and Lissa.

'It's like they're just acting; like he's there because he's expected to be there.' I noted to myself. 'They seem to actually be kind of…distant. Could Aunt Tasha be right, could there really be trouble between them?'

Just the thought of it troubled me; however I turned my gaze away and noticed something else which caught my eye. Veronica Lazar, a Moroi girl with a grudge against Lissa; the number of times I had heard her complaining about Lissa in one way or another was beyond count. She kept looking over at Lissa with a disturbingly smug expression on her face, and every time she did it she would whisper something to her friends, (I spotted Mia amongst them), who would then laugh at whatever it was she was saying. I shook my head and continued my observations, although what I saw there still nagged at the back of my mind. The only other people in the pool who I actually knew were Rose's friends and fellow novices, Mason and Eddie, as well as Jesse and Ralf.

I did not however let my gaze linger on any of them. Mason and Eddie were actually swimming yet Jesse and Ralf kept whispering; they had disturbing looks on their faces as well and it felt to me like they were looking for trouble. Following their gazes, I saw they were constantly glancing at Rose, which was even more worrying; I could only guess what they were talking about. I wondered if I should warn Rose about it, but then remembered that, even though I was proven right, she still wasn't happy about the fight we had when I revealed the truth about Lissa's brother. She wouldn't trust me. I'd need to inform someone who she did trust and ask them to warn her.

That immediately brought two choices to mind, although I'd need to figure out how to approach them. At that moment, however, we were all called to leave the pool. I turned and pulled myself out, the others all started leaving and we began heading back to the locker rooms. I kept mulling over everything I had witnessed in my mind and tried to think, both how to pass along the warning to Rose and also, about the apparent distance that had grown between Lissa and Aaron, and Veronica's strange behaviour. The one thing I kept wondering was, whether or not the two latter events were connected.

Once back in the locker room I began to get changed out of the Speedo and dry myself off, pulling my regular clothes back on. As I finished I found most of the other boys had already dressed and left, including Eddie. Mason was next to me, only half-dressed; I knew now would be my best, probably only, chance. I turned to him as he pulled his shirt on.

"Mason, there's something I need to tell you." I said quickly.

He stopped and turned towards me. "Huh, what's up?"

I sighed. "I don't know how best to put this, but I think Rose is in danger."

"Danger, but, how, exactly…?" He began before stopping and freezing.

I froze too. I could also hear them; Jesse and Ralf hadn't left yet. Hidden from view by the lockers, Mason and I were not noticed and they obviously assumed they were alone.

"Did you check Rose out at the pool?" Ralf asked. "I swear, every time I see her I just wanna grab those tits; they're huge."

Jesse laughed. "Tell me about it; she thinks she's so great, just because she's guardian for Lissa Dragomir; but really, the only thing about that's great is what's between her legs."

They laughed again and after a few more insensitive and sexual comments they began to leave. I glared, utterly disgusted by them, however, I then saw the look of rage on Mason's face. I quickly grabbed his arm before he could step out. He looked at me in shock.

"Didn't you hear them?!" He asked angrily. "They can't talk about her like that; I…"

I shook my head. "Don't, they're not worth getting yourself into trouble. But this is what I was trying to tell you; the looks they were giving Rose in the pool, their behaviour. Just keep an eye out for her, warn her, whatever it takes. But don't let them try anything, okay."

Mason nodded. "Okay, thanks for letting me know Christian."

With that I left the locker room, Mason finished getting dressed and also left. I sighed and headed back to my dorm, thinking harder than ever about everything I witnessed. Something didn't feel right, I just couldn't put my finger on it, or see it, but it was there. It just out of reach and that worried me, especially when I considered that, if what I feared was true, by the time I discovered what was going on, it would be too late.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please :)


	13. Chapter 13

**Vampire Academy: 3****rd**** Times the Prince Charming**

Chapter 13 of my Vampire Academy story, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Wolfgil2013: Thanks :)  
SadisticallyDelicious: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it, well, I wouldn't put it that strongly :)**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: Vampire Academy belongs to Richelle Mead.

* * *

**Chapter 13**

CHRISTIAN POV

I sighed as I left the classroom; another day of school was over. It had been three days since I had overheard that disturbing talk from Jesse and Ralf at the pool; so far nothing had happened, for which I was relieved. There was a sudden gust of wind and I quickly pulled my jacket tight around myself. It was getting colder; as such we now wore out winter uniforms. I was now wearing a pair of black wool pants; a black shirt; a red jumper; a red and black striped tie; black socks and black leather boots; along with a black and red jacket, black gloves and a black hat.

I could hear the whispering starting around me again; I glared and immediately quickened my pace, desperate to once more escape. Finally I found blessed silence as I exited the main building and headed once more for the church. I headed to my usual place and collapsed into the old armchair. I pulled off the gloves and hat and unzipped the jacket before running a hand through my hair and sighing.

'Just once, that's all I want, to just _once_, walk somewhere here and not have all this happen.' I thought to myself; I was seriously getting tired of it all.

I knew that once again I was going to spend a few hours here and then risk more stares and whispers as I tried to make it back to my dorm without incident.

However something happened then that I did not expect. I heard movement, and froze; wondering who could possibly be here. I soon got my answer as the familiar blonde girl entered the attic.

"Haven't seen you here in a while, Princess." I said, trying to sound nonchalant and failing miserably.

Lissa jumped, eyes wide as she saw me, she sighed and shook her head.

"I…I didn't know if you'd be here or not." She said.

I tilted my head at that, confused. "What's that supposed to mean, you were looking for me?"

To my surprise she nodded and then, as the silence continued, began to fidget with her clothes. She wore the girl's winter uniform which consisted of a red and black plaid pleated skirt which reached down to just above the knee. A black blouse; a red jumper; a red and black striped tie; black wool tights and black knee high boots completed the required outfit. I found myself feeling awkward, too; why was she looking for me? I shifted in my seat, trying to think of something to say, anything to break the silence. Finally however, to my surprise, Lissa sat down in the armchair opposite the one I occupied.

I raised an eyebrow, finally working up the courage to ask, "So, what's going on, why were you looking for me?" Then, in an attempt to break the tension, added, "Should I be flattered or worried?"

To my relief, it worked. Lissa gave a small smile and seemed to calm down. I knew any time now she would explain why she was here. After a bit longer in silence Lissa finally cleared her throat.

"I…I wanted to apologize, for what happened the last time I saw you." She said softly. "I; I was wrong."

"Wrong?"

She shook her head and sighed. "Rose told me all about it; the more I thought about it the more I realized I was wrong…And you were right; about my brother."

I then realized what this was all about. "I…I see; I wondered why you were here. I'm sorry too to be honest. I should've been more...tactful about it."

"I…Thanks but, I should've realized. So I should be the one who apologizes." Lissa replied immediately.

I shook my head and stood up. "Look, we were both in the wrong. I was a little too direct in revealing the truth to you and you well…Let's just say we've both realized our mistakes and move on."

She smiled and nodded. I was relieved that at least this was behind us and hoped that this meant what I thought it did, that our friendship was mended. When I focused again I was shocked to Lissa was standing right next to me. I was reminded all too strongly of my feelings for her and seeing her so close I felt my mouth go dry.

"I'm glad we sorted this out." She said softly.

I nodded; not trusting myself to speak at the moment. After a brief pause I was jolted back to earth when she spoke again.

It started with a simple question. "Christian, you know how you seem to…observe everybody and find things out about them easily.

I smirked slightly. "That's a…gentle way of putting it."

"I was wondering…Have you seen Aaron anywhere?" She asked suddenly. "There are times where, he just disappears and I can't find him, I'm worried and I hoped you'd seen him."

I fought hard to keep myself impassive at the not so subtle reminder that she had a boyfriend.

"I…I'm sorry; but, I've not seen him." I replied truthfully. "Is, do you really think something's wrong?"

Lissa sighed and shook her head. "It's just a feeling I have, it probably nothing. Thanks."

I then noticed her blushing and guessed that she must've noticed our close proximity too. There was another awkward silence and then, looking for something to say, I found myself speaking.

"Listen, I know it might still be a little awkward, but I still stand by what I said," I told her. "Anytime you wanna make a little escape, feel free to come up here. If I'm here, I won't mind."

It was probably my best chance at spending time with her to be honest; I really hoped she'd agree.

She smiled. "Thanks, I…That's…"

Then suddenly, something happened that I did not expect; she suddenly closed the gap between us and kissed me.

I was frozen; my mind kept screaming at me to pull back, reminding me that she had a boyfriend. But my heart was almost overflowing with joy. In the end it was Lissa who broke the kiss. She stepped back, breathless and wide-eyed, as if she'd just realized what she had been doing.

"I…I…I'm sorry, I shouldn't have, I'll just…" She shook her head and suddenly turned and fled.

I fell back onto the armchair; still in shock. Despite my best efforts to do so I couldn't rationalize her actions and I knew that for a long time, the way things were going, that kiss was going to haunt my dreams.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	14. Chapter 14

**Vampire Academy: 3****rd**** Times the Prince Charming**

Chapter 14 of my Vampire Academy story, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)  
SadisticallyDelicious: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it, well, do remember the circumstances at the moment, but yeah :)**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: Vampire Academy belongs to Richelle Mead.

* * *

**Chapter 14**

LISSA POV

I sighed as I sat on the sofa. I had my knee drawn up to my chest, one arm wrapped around them. My free hand was winding a lock of hair around one finger. To say I was confused wouldn't be deep enough. I was conflicted, _lost_; I still couldn't believe I had done what I did. It had been three days and since then I had done my best to try and act normal, but every time I saw Christian I was reminded of what I had done.

'How could I just kiss him like that; I'm supposed to be with Aaron, what I did there, it's, it's not…' My thoughts raced before trailing off.

In truth I knew, more or less, why I had kissed Christian. I had been desperate, starved of affection. Aaron and I had actually been growing distance as his disappearances became more frequent. It didn't excuse what I did though; this whole thing was a mess and now I was afraid of Aaron finding out.

I groaned as my thoughts began racing again. 'What am I gonna do; I don't know anymore…How I feel; it's all such a mess. Why did my family have to die, worse, why did they have to be who they were, I just wish things were simpler…Without everyone expecting so much from me.' I sighed sadly, before realizing the way my thoughts were going and tried to control myself quickly.

It had taken a long time but I finally worked out what element I specialized in; a very rare fifth element that almost no one had heard of, Spirit. While it had been useful on certain occasions it had unfortunate side-effects. One of which was depression; there were more advanced stages but I was hopeful that I hadn't yet and would never reach them. I had to really control myself, or the depression would get out of hand. This was one of those moments and I desperately tried to calm myself down, and to control it. Luckily at that moment Rose arrived and sat down next to me.

"Hey, you okay, you look a little…tense." She said casually, although I noted the hidden question in her tone. The bond we shared meant Rose could feel my emotions, particularly the dark depression; I worried about how it affected her but she always brushed it off. Therefore, I knew lying to Rose would be pointless.

So I looked around carefully before speaking. "Rose; I…Everything's such a mess right now, I don't know what to do."

Rose looked at me seriously and then asked, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"I don't know."

There was a brief silence before Rose spoke up again. "Okay, look, tell me what's going on, I'll see if I can figure something out."

I shook my head but knew there was no other way, so I quickly prepared myself. Then I faltered for a moment, wondering how I could possibly word this and make it sound good. Then I remembered I was talking to Rose, not one of the other Royals; she wouldn't spread it like gossip and I just had to say things exactly as they were.

"Okay, well, recently…Aaron and I have been having some problems." I began to explain while Rose listened intently. "We've not really had any proper contact for two weeks now and well; things are getting a little tense between us. At best I'd say we were distant. Anyway, that's was on my mind, even three days ago, when I went to talk to Christian."

I could see Rose stiffen and I remembered that I had forgotten to tell her how that conversation had gone.

"Lissa…" She began, a worried edge in her voice.

I shook my head. "It's okay, I…I fixed things, told him about how I knew the truth now and, well, we both apologized. Things were fine until…Thinking about how I was missing those feelings I usually got from Aaron and…seeing Christian there and, thinking about him I…I kissed him."

Rose looked at me confused and I realized I had merely whispered the last part. "What?"

I cleared my throat and tried again. "I kissed him."

Rose stared at me, wide-eyed, clearly shocked at what I was admitting. Finally, after a long silence, during which Rose rocked back in her seat; still staring, she recovered.

"Lissa, I…" She hesitated briefly before continuing. "Look, given how you've explained everything, I can kinda understand. You're conflicted in your feelings, the only question is, can you work out what's best for you?"

I didn't know how to reply to that. Was it true? Did I really have feelings for Christian, feelings I was only now noticing since my feelings for Aaron were dying due to our lack of contact?

I managed a small smile. "Rose I…Thanks; I think I understand but, how do you know about this, this conflicted feelings stuff?"

I could've sworn I saw Rose blush at that, but she shook her head. "No-no reason, I just…I heard it somewhere."

I wanted to pursue the subject but Rose had to go to her extra training lesson. Shortly after she left I also left, deciding to go looking for Aaron, to see if I could find him. If I did I would see what happened. If it was as I thought, then at least I knew what was going on now. My searching was mostly in vain however; despite all my best efforts I couldn't find Aaron anywhere in the Academy and the people I asked hadn't seen him either. Finally I gave up and decided to head to my dorm room; I would confront him about his disappearances the next time I saw him.

Unfortunately, to get to my dorm I had to pass Veronica Lazar's room. The door was ajar and from within I could hear disturbing and…lustful sounds. I fought the impulse to roll my eyes and tried hard not to think about what Veronica must've said or done to lure whoever the man was to her bed. But then I heard the man responding to Veronica's moans and I froze.

'No…It couldn't be, surely not…It can't…'

Slowly, nervously I approached the door. It inched open and I froze, wide-eyed, shocked, a strange sickening jolt striking in my stomach. It was as I feared, Veronica was in bed with Aaron, when he looked up and saw me, his face said it all. This was where he had been disappearing to; this whole time he had been cheating on me with Veronica and now I had caught them at it. I couldn't take it, the pain was too raw, everything was just too much. I did the only thing I could think of, and turned and fled; tears streaming down my face.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	15. Chapter 15

**Vampire Academy: 3****rd**** Times the Prince Charming**

Chapter 15 of my Vampire Academy chapter, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Wolfgirl2013: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it :)  
SadisticallyDelicious: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it, here you go.**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: Vampire Academy belongs to Richelle Mead.

* * *

**Chapter 15**

LISSA POV

I still couldn't believe it, I had seen it with my own eyes, yet still couldn't believe it.

'How could he, how could he…?' The words kept echoing again and again in my mind.

I wasn't really paying attention to where I was going. I just wanted to get away, to put as much distance as possible between myself and that horrifying sight. I couldn't believe I had been so blind as to not see what was happening. After all, the more I thought about it, the more I wondered why Aaron ever rekindled our relationship. I was alone after all, the last Dragomir; I had no chance of my family ever growing strong again, or of improving my station; with no other relatives I even wasn't permitted to put my name forward as a potential successor to Queen Tatiana in the event of her death. Why would Aaron even give me a second glance? And how long had Veronica had her claws in him? I was surprised he didn't just shut me down right away, unless he was simply keeping up appearances and waiting for what he felt was the right moment.

None of it made any sense! But, strangely, I found that I didn't want it too either; I wasn't sure I could cope with anymore. It was as if whatever it was that had been holding me together had just shattered and I was now broken.

It was only when I finally stopped walking that I realized where I was, the church attic. I looked around frantically, desperately searching for the one other person who made this place his refuge.I kept expecting to hear that familiar voice at any moment. I _hoped_ to hear it, but the place was empty. I sank to my knees and continued to let the tears fall, not bothering to wipe them away. Everything just felt so empty now; I didn't know what to do. I let out a shaky breath and then, praying that somehow Rose couldn't see what was going on through the bond, I pulled out the razor blade, my hands trembling. I pulled up my sleeve and fought the tremor that ran through my body. Just one quick movement would end everything, but I didn't want that; I just wanted some relief from the pain, to let myself go numb. Before I could even make the cut however I heard the sharp intake of breath and then the voice.

"Hey Princess, hold on a minute."

I turned my head, staring, wide-eyed, knowing he would see the tear tracks. Christian stood there, also wide-eyed, clearly shocked at what he had caught me doing.

"Ch-Christian, I-I…" I choked out.

He shook his head, slowly stepping towards me. "Okay, just calm down, it's alright."

His voice was quiet, gentle, reassuring. Strangely, despite this, I knew he wasn't using compulsion, I could easily tell when someone was. It then struck me that he was indeed trying to talk me out of what I was doing. He was trying to help me.

I suddenly wasn't so sure, what should I do, or what I wanted to do I felt like I was frozen; the only thing I could focus on was Christian's voice.

"Listen, it's gonna be okay; you don't have to do this, there's always another way." He was saying, still softly. "Just…let it go."

It was as if I was just watching what was going on, through my own eyes. My body acted on its own; despite Christian not using compulsion, I found myself letting go of the razor blade. Then, without really thinking I stood up and threw myself at Christian and found myself crying into his shoulder. He seemed shocked by my actions but then, slowly, he wrapped his arms around me and did his best to comfort me. I wasn't sure how much time had passed but finally, I found myself calming down; slowly I pulled back a little and wiped my face. I could see Christian looking at me, concerned. I nodded slowly and he, somewhat reluctantly, let me go. Taking a moment to compose myself I sat down on the nearest chair. Christian sat next to me.

"Do you…wanna tell me what happened, it might help if you to?" He asked, hesitant, unsure.

I sighed. "Yeah, probably. I just…God, this is hard."

He nodded slowly. "Take your time."

So I took a deep breath and told him everything.

By the end I was once more being embraced by Christian as I cried. It was indeed hard, but I managed to tell him everything. By the time I recovered I found that Christian was glaring.

"That asshole, unbelievable." He muttered angrily. "The sickening thing is, he was probably gonna keep hiding it and appear to be with you."

I sighed. "You're right, I just wish I knew what happened to us, how could it…?"

Christian quickly shook his head. "No, don't blame yourself, none of this is your fault, you deserve better than that asshole."

I couldn't help but smile at that; he was right, I did deserve better. I thought about my conflicting feelings again; they were gone. It was clear to me what the truth was now. So, smiling, and, this time without any second thoughts or hesitation, I leaned in closer to Christian and kissed him. When I finally pulled back he looked stunned but then smiled in response to my own smile.

"Thank you, for everything." I told him. "I…there's something I need to tell you."

He raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, what is it?"

So I told him all about my growing feelings for him and how I finally made my decision. He smiled throughout and even revealed that he too had felt the same way. Finally, after a moment of silence I asked, "So, are we together now?"

He smirked and responded. "I don't know, maybe another kiss will help me decide."

I laughed at that and willingly obliged.

Sometime later we left the church attic together, holding hands and not caring who saw us. I wondered briefly how I was going to tell Rose about this. I knew, in spite of everything, she was still a bit wary around Christian. In fact, I was surprised she hadn't shown up in all this time; luckily I spotted Eddie Castile nearby.

"Eddie!" I called out; he turned to me and smiled.

"Yeah, what's up?" If he noticed Christian and me holding hands he didn't comment.

I quickly asked him, "Have you seen Rose anywhere?"

Eddie suddenly cringed. "There was an incident in our training class…Rose, well, she was injured, Mason took her to the hospital."

I started at that and, after sharing a quick glance with Christian, we hurried to the hospital to see her. I just hoped she wasn't hurt too badly.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	16. Chapter 16

**Vampire Academy: 3****rd**** Times the Prince Charming**

Chapter 16 of my Vampire Academy story, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)  
SadisticallyDelicious: Here you go :)**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: Vampire Academy belongs to Richelle Mead.

* * *

**Chapter 16**

ROSE POV

I was busy focused on my opponent. I was in an extra-curricular training class being held for those who wanted further instruction; we were currently practicing various fight techniques. My opponent was much larger than I was, and heavy with muscle, but I knew if I was quick enough I could use that against him. However, when the time came for him to attack I found myself being pulled away from the room and into Lissa's mind.

'Of all the times…' I began to think angrily, until I realized the situation.

Lissa was in the church attic, kneeling on the floor, tears running down her face. She pushed the sleeves of her shirt up and had pulled out a razor blade. My breath hitched; I'd seen this before; only now I had no means of saving her. I tried desperately to pull out of her mind and think up some excuse so I could escape and hurry to save her before it was too late. Just then, however, I was forcibly pulled out of Lissa's mind by an explosion of pain and I fell to the ground. I could hear the shouting, could see my opponent kneeling next to me, apologizing profusely and could feel the pain in my right ankle, yet when I tried to get up, the pain flared and I had to drop back down to the ground.

'Great, just great.' I thought angrily. 'A broken ankle…and why now of all times, Lissa's still in danger, I need to, ugh, but I can't move.' I was now stuck; worried and unsure what to do next.

One of the Guardian's supervising the class came over and examined my leg carefully.

"Broken ankle." He confirmed. "We're going to have to get you to the infirmary."

I grit my teeth. The infirmary; that would take even more time; God only knows what was happening with Lissa, I couldn't see inside her head anymore. But I couldn't argue, especially when Mason stepped forwards.

"I'll take her." He offered immediately.

The Guardian accepted this and Mason helped me to my feet. He then pulled one of my arms over his shoulders and held onto my wrist. The other arm he wrapped around my waist and began to help me walk out of the class. Once outside I looked over at Mason.

"Mase, please, I can't…I mean…" I didn't know how to explain this to him.

But despite my attempted plea, Mason shook his head. "Sorry Rose, but you can't walk on that ankle. You need to get it seen to."

I cursed under my breath and glumly nodded; praying that Lissa was safe, that she hadn't hurt herself too seriously. With Mason's help I made it to the infirmary and soon the doctors were getting to work on my ankle. To my surprise, despite them saying he was free to leave now, Mason opted to stay. I couldn't help but smile; but remembering his feelings towards me, I cursed myself for my own conflicting ones. I knew I'd need to do something about that sooner or later.

Finally they had done everything they could for my ankle, and I lay back on the bed. Mason was still present, sitting next to the bed; smiling, talking aimlessly to pass the time. I replied as best I could, but in truth I was still frantic about Lissa. What had happened to her, why was she so upset? It had been months since she'd last been so depressed she started cutting herself. In the end Mason became aware of my preoccupation and cleared his throat.

"Um, Rose, is something wrong?" he asked, running a hand through his hair. "You seem kinda…distracted."

I sighed and bit my lip; finally admitting, "Sorry Mason, I was…I was just thinking. I just have a bad feeling, something might be wrong with Lissa."

He looked at me seriously and nodded. "I…I see; I could go and try and find her if you want."

I smiled. "That'd be great, thanks."

However I got my wish sooner than I thought I would. Mason had barely got out of his seat when suddenly the door opened and Lissa walked rushed in, Christian right behind her.

"Rose are you okay?" She gasped out as she stopped next to the bed.

I was taken aback but then smiled. "I'm fine Lissa, thanks." I then added in an undertone. "It's you I was worried about."

She bowed her head slightly, she knew what I was talking about. Christian then motioned to Mason and they both left, allowing Lissa and me some privacy.

Lissa sat down and we sat in silence until I finally worked up the nerve to ask.

"So what happened, I saw you…about to cut yourself before I got hurt."

Lissa sighed and then explained. "Christian was there; he…He stopped me, talked me out of it. Before you ask Rose, the reason why I did it; it was Aaron…"

She choked out her words as she said the last part and I tensed.

"What did he do?" I asked; trying hard to control my rage.

"He's been…he's been cheating on me, with Veronica Lazar. I caught them having sex no more than a few hours ago." Lissa revealed at last.

It was all I could do not to explode with rage; I growled, almost at once trying to think of a way to make Aaron pay for this; cheating on Lissa, with that stuck up bitch Veronica Lazar no less. My anger must've shown on my face however as Lissa quickly spoke up.

"Rose don't…" She began.

I quickly cut across her. "That asshole, I swear, he is gonna pay for this, both of them are."

Lissa shook her head. "Don't bother Rose; I'm not, not anymore. He's not worth it anyway."

"You've broken up with him then?" I asked.

Lissa nodded, adding. "Not officially but yeah; besides, I'm with someone better now."

That caught me off guard; I wondered momentarily who she meant, but then remembered who she had arrived here with. I gaped at Lissa as I worked this out. She smiled slightly, noticing my expression and realizing I had worked it all out.

"No way." I gasped at last. "You and…and Christian?"

Lissa nodded. "Yeah, I know what you're probably gonna say but, please, don't cause trouble, he's actually pretty sweet."

I sighed and shook my head at that, quickly clearing my throat. "Well…so long as he behaves himself, and doesn't do anything to hurt you." I said finally. "I guess I'm okay with it."

Lisa smiled and hugged me; I returned the hug, relieved that, while there were still a few loose ends to tie up, this drastic situation had at least been resolved rather well.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	17. Chapter 17

**Vampire Academy: 3****rd**** Times the Prince Charming**

Chapter 17 of my Vampire Academy story, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Wolfgirl2013: Thanks.  
SadisticallyDelicious: Thanks.**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: Vampire Academy belongs to Richelle Mead.

* * *

**Chapter 17**

ROSE POV

I sighed as I considered my situation. I had been kept in the infirmary for some time, while the doctors checked my ankle every now and then to see how it was healing. To say I was impatient would be a great understatement; I hated sitting still like this. My only consolation was that I knew Lissa was safe, because I had made Christian swear to me to protect her and, he had. And I had known from the look on his face that he had meant it too, which was good enough for me. As I lay, staring at the ceiling I began thinking about Lissa and Christian, specifically their new relationship.

'I never would've imagined the two of them together; then again, I never really gave Christian much thought.' I narrowed my eyes, pondering deeper. 'I wonder what it is she sees in him? Why does she feel that way about him; why does she trust him so much?'

As I thought about it, I couldn't help but be amused at how that old saying 'opposites attract' was, in fact, wrong regarding those two. Yes, there were differences but in some regards they were kind of the same. For starters, they both were outcasts, having few or no friends due to it. They had similar likes and interests, not to mention both were pragmatic and preferred to tell the truth about things, and shared a dislike of gossip.

I was pulled out of my thoughts by a knock on the door. I looked over at it sharply and was not surprised to see Mason enter. Throughout the few days I had spent being treated, Mason had visited at least once a day. I smiled at this show of dedication and had to admit it was quite touching how much he cared. He smiled as he sat down next to the bed.

"Hey Rose; how are you today?" he asked.

I shrugged. "Bored. Wishing I could just get out of here. The usual."

He laughed at that and shook his head. "Honestly Rose, you really shouldn't…"

"Don't worry Mase. I won't do anything until I've recovered," I replied quickly. He nodded and we lapsed into a rather companionable silence. It was then the doctor finally arrived. I sat up and watched as the doctor checked my ankle and began performing a whole collection of tests; I didn't pay any real attention to them, I just wanted to hear the end result.

Finally the doctor spoke, "Well Miss Hathaway; it seems you have fully recovered…"

He began talking about something else but I was far too relieved to hear the rest of it. Luckily for me, Mason listened and warned me, as I was finally released, that I was not to overexert myself for at least another week, just to be safe. I smiled and, happy to finally be allowed to move about, left the infirmary with Mason.

As we walked I couldn't help but think about Mason. 'He's always been so kind, so friendly, so patient and caring. I know how he feels about me; but do I, do I really feel the same? If things weren't so complicated, what with my feelings for Dimitri too…' Trying hard to calm my thoughts I searched for something to say; in the end I simply spoke honestly.

"Mason, I wanted to thank you; for coming to see me so much while I was recovering." I said sincerely. "It was, very nice of you." Mason turned and looked at me as I spoke, and as I finished, he blushed and fumbled his words awkwardly.

Finally, however, he spoke clearly, "It's, it's no trouble. Really, I, I'm glad I did."

I smiled at that. 'He really does care, it's pretty sweet; maybe I should, maybe I should give him a chance…I mean, I know there are limits but still.'

I racked my brains, trying to decide what to do. Finally I made up my mind. I suddenly stopped walking; Mason also stopped, turning to me.

"Rose?" He asked curiously.

I cleared my throat. "Mase I…I wanna talk to about something, it's important, um, I'd rather do this in private."

Mason nodded and indicated a nearby empty classroom. I smiled and we both slipped inside. It was now or never. I just wish things didn't suddenly feel so awkward.

That awkwardness hung around as we both stood in the room. I leaned against one of the desks while Mason stood across from me, shifting his weight from foot to foot. Finally, in an attempt to break the silence I spoke up.

"Mase I…what I wanted to say was, I mean." Dammit, why wouldn't the words come out?

I could playfully flirt all day long with Mason, but when it came to actually saying the words, I froze.

Mason smiled awkwardly, trying to be helpful. "Take your time; it's…it's alright."

I smiled and then cleared my throat again before finally speaking.

"Look Mase, I know we're good friends and we sometimes banter and playfully flirt with each other but…" I paused and then asked. "I was wondering; do you feel something…more for me?"

Mason went bright red at that and was suddenly very interested in his shoes. Finally he coughed and spoke; stumbling over his words.

"Rose I…I'm sorry; it's true, I do, but…if, if that's, if you don't feel the same. If you want us to remain friends, then I assure you it's okay." He stammered. "I can accept that, but if you…"

I smiled and decided to put a stop to his stammering and to answer his unspoken question at the same time. I closed the gap between us and, letting impulse take over, I kissed him.

I continued to hold the kiss until we both needed air and so we parted. I could see that, if anything, Mason had gone even redder. I knew I was blushing too.

Mason looked shocked. "Rose, I…"

I smiled. "It's okay; it's the best way I could tell you."

"Well, I didn't really mind it." He replied at last, smiling. "But did you mean it?"

I nodded. Inside I was still conflicted, but I was willing to try to end those feelings and also achieve some happiness; just like Christian and Lissa.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	18. Chapter 18

**Vampire Academy: 3****rd**** Times the Prince Charming**

Chapter 18 of my Vampire Academy story, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)  
SadisticallyDelicious: Well so am I, this is story one of a trilogy, while there will be strong hints throughout all three stories, Rose/Dimitri will become the final pairing. Glad you like the relationship though :)**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: Vampire Academy belongs to Richelle Mead.

* * *

**Chapter 18**

LISSA POV

I had spoken to Rose not too long ago; she had told me how, yesterday, after being released from the infirmary, she had spoken to her friend Mason Ashford. It had been pretty clear for a long time that he had a crush on her. Turned out Rose had similar feelings for him and they had both opened up about it, so now they were dating. I couldn't help but smile, happy for Rose. However, I knew there would be some problems. I had spoken to Rose about that, too, and she had agreed; we decided it would be best if we got Mason and Christian and we all spoke together to work out what we were going to do from now on. So I headed to the church attic where Christian was waiting for me. He smiled as I entered and without hesitating I immediately walked over and sat down on his lap; we then kissed and after parting he raised an eyebrow and smirked.

"Comfy?"

I laughed and nodded. "Particularly."

He wrapped an arm around my waist and continued to kiss me, starting with my cheek then trailing down to my jaw, my neck and finally, my shoulder. I figured now would be best time, before we got too carried away and I forgot, so I gently coughed to get his attention.

"Christian, there's something we need to talk about. We need to go to the common room and meet up with Rose and Mason." I told him.

He was clearly confused. "Um, okay why?"

I explained as best I could. "Rose and Mason are dating too; we just need to talk about our relationships." He was still clearly suspicious but nodded in acceptance.

"Alright then," he said finally. However I smiled and kissed him again, before whispering.

"We don't need to go just yet." He smirked again and we resumed kissing.

Finally, sometime later we left the church attic, both smirking, I could feel the heat on my cheeks but didn't mind. We took each other's hand and began walking to the common room. I could feel the eyes on us as we passed and the shocked whispering. Yet, much to my surprise I found that I didn't care what they were saying. In fact, I felt more alive than ever before, as if by doing this I was rebelling against just about everything that was expected of me as the last Dragomir. It felt surprisingly refreshing.

So, still smirking and ignoring the stares and whispers I entered the common room. As I had hoped it was empty at this time of day. I led Christian over to one of the sofas and we sat down. Not more than a few minutes later Rose and Mason entered and joined us. Once they sat down; still holding hands I may add, I got everyone's attention and explained.

"Alright, the reason why we're here is simple. Obviously we face some…difficulties regarding our relationships." I told them. "We already know how people would view me dating Christian."

Christian nodded in response grimly. "Yeah, given my 'stellar reputation'."

I shook my head, trying to tell him to be serious, but I couldn't help but smile. "Quite, but that's not all. Apart from our…issues, we've also got to consider how people might react to…you two." As I said those last words I looked towards Rose and Mason. Mason blushed but smiled; Rose shook her head.

"I know what you mean, Lissa." she said softly. "We're both Dhampirs, the two of us having a relationship would be taboo."

I nodded before then revealing, "Exactly; this is why I feel, since we're both going to be taking the risks, we look out for each other, okay? We help each other cope with any…problems and just do whatever we can to support each other, okay?"

The others all smiled and Mason answered first, "Sounds good to me, I'll be happy to do anything to help you guys out."

The others all agreed, too; I felt relieved and certain that no matter what happened, we would be able to deal with whatever came our way.

It was the following day when I found myself facing my first real test. As I was walking through the school corridors at lunch I heard raised voices. I hurried towards it as I heard one of them was Christian's voice. I froze at what I saw: Christian was standing, trying to calmly defuse the argument, but arguing with him and clearly not backing down, was Aaron. I should have guessed something like this would happen. I hurried forwards, only vaguely realizing that I didn't actually have any sort of plan. Yet strangely that didn't stop me.

"You think I'd let you get away with this!" Aaron yelled. "You think you can just _steal_ my girlfriend? I don't know what _lies_ you told her, Ozera, but I'm not…!"

I broke in at that point. "Aaron, shut up!"

There was a loud gasp from the assembled crowd, all of them Royals I noticed. Christian turned and saw me before smirking; Aaron spun around and saw me; he gaped, particularly at what I had said to him.

"Wha, Lissa I, what did you…?" He stammered.

I shook my head. "Christian didn't steal me from you, Aaron, we're no longer together."

At that there was another gasp, but I remained focused on Aaron who suddenly glared and advanced on me. He growled. "Excuse me, _what_ was that? You can't just…"

"I can and I have; we're through. Besides, Christian's a _much_ better choice than you." That sent the crowd clamouring with whispers; it also enraged Aaron.

"What, you'd choose that Strigoi _wannabe_ over me? I gave you so much, I…"

I decided now was the time. "You _cheated_ on me, you bastard!" Stunned silence fell and Aaron's eyes went wide; it was clear he thought I'd never reveal it. Finally Aaron recovered.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" He gasped.

I glared and shook my head. "What, not even going to deny it? Well, I guess you can't."

He seemed to realize I wasn't done yet and tried to move towards me to stop me. But Christian got between us; whatever insult Aaron had prepared to say to Christian was stopped dead by my revelation.

I said it loud enough to ensure everyone present heard it. "You think I'd forgotten that you cheated on me with Veronica Lazar, that you _slept_ with her!"

His eyes widened; he knew all too well what my revelation would mean, given how many had heard it. The word would soon be spread and everyone would know what he had done. In effect I had just ruined him considerably; normally I'd be ashamed of such an act, but after how he hurt me, I didn't in this case. I took Christian's hand.

"C'mon, let's go." I said to him firmly.

Smirking, Christian followed me as we walked away from the clamouring crowd and Aaron, who was desperately trying to get away and try to hide. Once away from the crowd, I smiled widely and laid my head on Christian's shoulder. I had a feeling that things were going to change pretty drastically around here.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	19. Chapter 19

**Vampire Academy: 3****rd**** Times the Prince Charming**

Chapter 19 of my Vampire Academy story, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: Vampire Academy belongs to Richelle Mead.

* * *

**Chapter 19**

ROSE POV

I could hear the whispering as I sat in class, but I could only just make out what was being said.

'Well, it's not like we didn't expect it,' I thought to myself, even feeling slightly amused. 'We knew people would talk about our relationship…They're talking about Lissa and Christian too, how sadly predictable.'

I leaned back in my seat, grateful that Mason sat at the table next to me. I took his hand under the table; he smiled lightly and squeezed my hand. Still listening to the whispering, I realized they were spreading rumours about us and Lissa and Christian.

"Wonder why she got together with someone like Ozera huh?" someone asked. "I can think of a pretty good reason."

I could hear the stifled giggles and fought to keep my temper under control, knowing what they meant.

Another of them spoke, "I personally think Aaron was right to get free of that Dragomir girl; he needs someone with a future, like Veronica."

The first person stifled their laugh again. "Yeah, tell me about it; typical of that girl, acting out like that because she's jealous, of everything he's got and could have. Guess she and Ozera are perfect for each other then."

I was shocked by this; I knew there would be similar rumours about me and Mason, but to hear what some of them were saying and what they seemed to believe was disconcerting.

Shaking my head I was glad when class ended and we left. Mason held onto my hand as we walked, as such I was able to control myself and calm down. I knew it would do to lose my temper, or get defensive; after all if I did, it would just give them more to talk about. As we walked I heard someone call us. We turned and smiled as Eddie walked up to us.

"Hey guys," Eddie greeted us; smiling widely.

I smiled, noting the grin on his face and knowing why. "Hey; so what's up?"

Eddie shrugged casually. "Nothing much, just wondering how you two love birds are doing?" I saw Mason blush and I couldn't help but smile.

"We're good," I replied, moving a little closer to Mason than necessary. He noticed and grinned.

Eddie just shook his head. "Well, just be careful, both of you, you know how people can be."

Mason sighed. "Don't we know it, the stuff we've overheard." We continued walking; bantering and I was relieved to see that, despite Mason and I ending up together, Eddie thankfully didn't feel like a fifth wheel. We soon found Lissa and Christian and sat down together at one of the tables in the cafeteria. Ignoring the stares and whispers we sat and chatted together happily.

As we spoke Eddie finally asked, "So, what do you guys have planned for this weekend?"

We all shared a smile and then Lissa explained," We've decided to go on a double date; our first…official date."

I nodded. "Yeah, which reminds me Lissa; after school we better go and get everything planned out."

"Yeah, you're right." Lissa replied before turning to Christian, seeing his expression she told him, "Relax, and don't sulk; trust me, it'll be worth it."

Christian just nodded; relaxing but still clearly sulking, that brooding expression was way too familiar.

Later, Lissa and I were up in her room, talking together about our upcoming date.

"You're sure we'll be allowed to go now? I don't want to get their hopes up for nothing," I asked cautiously. I knew it was uncharacteristic of me, given my usual brashness; but I wanted this to go right; to give things a chance, a real chance.

Lissa nodded reassuringly. "Yes, I told you, I've already spoken to Kirova about it; she's given us permission. There will be Guardians there, but they'll be at a discreet distance."

I smiled and nodded; it all sounded okay. Surprisingly that was actually the easy part, at least for us. More difficult for us at the moment was deciding where to go.

"So what do you think?" Lissa asked as we checked the computer for places near the Academy we could go to.

I looked carefully at the list then suddenly I stopped Lissa. "Wait, look at that one, what do you think?"

Lissa looked at the place I had pointed out; it was a rather classy restaurant not far from the Academy. Lissa smiled and nodded.

"It's perfect."

We smiled in agreement, and soon began making further plans, such as what we were going to wear and other minor details.

That night I lay in bed; clad in my winter pyjamas, a pair of black sweatpants and a red flannel T-shirt. I was wondering if I should actually dare do what I had on my mind. I knew it was risky, especially since if Kirova found out I could end up back on probation and it would ruin our plans for this weekend. In the end, however, I made up my mind and slipped out of bed. I picked up my phone and sent the text message; once done I quietly left my dorm and sneaked downstairs to the common room. I was there for a good few minutes before Mason finally arrived; like me he was clad in his winter pyjamas, dark grey sweatpants and a green T-shirt. He smiled when he saw me and I motioned for him to sit on the sofa next to me. He sat down, noticing the coy look I gave him.

"Rose, are you sure this is wise now?" He asked cautiously.

I shrugged. "Not really sure, but, I know what I'm doing."

Mason laughed and shook his head. "I hope so, for your sake."

No further words were needed then and I wrapped my arms around Mason's shoulders and kissed him. He responded eagerly, his hands around my waist; we were soon lying on the sofa, making out, oblivious to our surroundings.

It was the sound of a throat being cleared that brought us crashing back to reality. We jerked apart, breathless, wide-eyed, and undoubtedly blushing. I suppressed a groan as I realized who it was who caught us.

"Enjoying yourselves?" Dimitri asked with a raised eyebrow.

Mason and I shared a look, instantly knowing that even attempting to lie would be pointless.

I therefore immediately confessed. "It was my fault, I asked Mason to come down. We both…"

Dimitri shook his head. "I don't need details Rose; now, I suggest both of you get to bed, before someone else catches you…quickly."

Sharing a glance with Mason and noting his relieved look, we did as Dimitri said and returned to our dorms. I flopped down on my bed and sighed, noting that it was actually good luck that Dimitri had caught us. If it had been someone else, well, it wouldn't have ended so well. Guess my late night make out sessions with Mason would have to wait until the date then.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	20. Chapter 20

**Vampire Academy: 3****rd**** Times the Prince Charming**

Chapter 20 of my Vampire Academy story.

**Reviews**

**Wolfgirl2013: Sure thing :)**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: Vampire Academy belongs to Richelle Mead.

* * *

**Chapter 20**

LISSA POV

I smiled as Rose and I got ready for our date with our boyfriends. We were currently in just our underwear, (me in dark blue strapless bra and matching tight butt-hugging panties, and Rose in fiery red, lacy bra and matching panties) as we looked out the clothes we were going to wear for the date. We finally made our decisions and got dressed.

"Well, what do you think Lissa?" Rose asked.

I examined her outfit and smiled. Rose was clad in a black ruffled skirt that came down to just above her knees, a red blouse, black pumps and thick nude stockings which went to her thighs, for the cold. To finish it off she wore ruby studded earrings and red lipstick.

I nodded. "Perfect; looks great, how about me?"

Rose began inspecting my outfit: a shin length dark green satin dress with sparkling patterns, black pumps and thick nude stockings like hers, except mine went to my waist. I also wore silver studded earrings and a silver necklace with an engraved D on the pendant. Rose nodded in clear approval.

"It's perfect; okay, I think we're ready," she said happily.

I nodded happily and together we left the room and headed down to the entrance hall where Christian and Mason would be waiting for us. Sure enough, they were already there, both clad in dark suits with dress shirts and ties. They smiled widely when they saw us; I had to stifle a giggle at their expressions when they saw our outfits. Taking our respective partners' hands, Rose and I left the Academy, ready to head out for our first official date with our boyfriends.

...

As we walked, I lay my head on Christian's shoulder. He smiled and kissed the top of my head; I smiled and squeezed his hand. I glanced over at Rose and Mason who were walking alongside us. They were whispering quietly, grinning the whole time. As I watched, Rose leaned in and kissed Mason's cheek. Mason smiled and whispered something to her before kissing her on the lips. They then laughed for no apparent reason; I couldn't help but smile wider, enjoying all the happiness. Even though I knew we were under constant watch, that just out of sight, the Guardians were constantly vigilant as they followed us; they did so discreetly, almost as if nobody was there. Indeed, if I wasn't aware we were being watched like this, I probably would never have known or even guessed the Guardians were present. As we drew closer to the town Christian leaned in close and whispered,

"Hope everything goes well; this place is big, there's a lot of people around." He paused and then added. "We better hope we don't get lost, or the Guardians are sure to come looking for us; more than likely jump the gun and blame me for something."

The sad part was, despite my wish to deny it; I knew he was probably right. They probably would not believe him, no matter what he said. They'd probably not even believe me if I tried to tell them nothing happened either. Still, I wasn't going to let that get to me, not tonight.

Finally we arrived at the restaurant. I smiled as I looked around the place; it was rather expensive looking but that wasn't an issue to us. It was fancy and well designed; I liked it instantly. I could tell from the looks on their faces that the others did too. We immediately were led to a table and were shown the menu, after giving our drink orders we checked the menus and ordered our food. While we waiting I smiled and reached over the table, covering one of Christian's hands with my own. He smiled back and we made small talk with each other the food arrived. We ate, talking between bites still and as the night wore on we continued to enjoy ourselves. Later on in the night, I had stepped outside for some fresh air. Christian joined me and we both sat on one of the benches outside the restaurant.

"This was great, wasn't it?" I asked casually as we gazed up at the stars.

Christian laughed gently. "Yes, it was…Perfect, in fact." I relaxed against him and we were quiet for a moment. Then, acting on impulse, I turned to look at him and saw he was doing the same. He noticed my expression and nodded, indicating he was thinking the same thing. So, without hesitating, I pulled him into a deep kiss. Sometime later we parted for air, both grinning.

Realizing we had been outside for quite a while we returned to the restaurant and found that, while we were gone, Rose and Mason had begun making out too. I smirked and nudged Christian as he opened his mouth to say something. I shook my head, silently grateful the restaurant was mostly empty by now. When they finally parted I stepped forwards and spoke.

"Having fun you two?"

They both started and turned towards us, wide-eyed and blushing. Yet they were also grinning too, clearly an indication that they were indeed having fun.

Finally I spoke up. "Listen guys, we should pay and get going; we don't want to be late back after all."

They nodded in agreement and we quickly paid and began our walk back. Thankfully it was just as uneventful as the walk there and we made it back in one piece with plenty of time to spare. So Rose and I said goodbye to Mason and Christian after kissing our respective boyfriends one more time and then headed back to the dorms, heading to my room. Once inside we sat down and Rose grinned.

"Well, that was pretty amazing, for a first date." She said cheerfully.

I nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I'm glad it went so well. I have, I have this feeling that things are going to change greatly now, I can't wait for that."

Rose laughed. "Yeah, me neither. Boy, when people realize just how serious things are between you and Christian..."

I blushed but smiled all the same and finally, after some more small talk Rose said good night and left for her room. I quickly got changed into my winter pyjamas which were the same colour and style of nightgown as my summer one, only reaching my ankles rather than my knees. I got into bed and lay down, still smiling widely as I thought back to the date.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please


	21. Chapter 21

**Vampire Academy: 3****rd**** Times the Prince Charming**

Chapter 21 of my Vampire Academy story, enjoy :)

**Reviews**

**Wolfgirl2013: Thanks, glad you liked them :)  
SadisticallyDelicious: Thanks :)**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: Vampire Academy belongs to Richelle Mead.

* * *

**Chapter 21**

CHRISTIAN POV

It had been a week since our double date. I was currently sitting with Lissa, Rose, Mason, and their friend Eddie. I had to admit, this was all unusual and alien to me, so used to being on my own as I was. Yet here I was, seated with friends.

'Friends…A word I never thought I'd ever use after what my parents did.' I thought to myself. 'Then again, I never thought I'd end up with Lissa either; strange how things happen sometimes.'

As I thought the last part Lissa leaned into me and I smiled, wrapping my arm around her waist. Rose was sitting next to Lissa and across from Mason; I had a sneaking suspicion they were playing footsie under the table. My suspicions were mostly based on their expressions, those knowing smiles despite not seeming to make physical contact. I continued to glance around, noticing there were a few people whispering and looking over at us, but they didn't concern me. I knew what they were talking about anyway.

I shook my head, thinking. 'Let them talk; I couldn't care less. Lissa made her choice; what do they truly know about it.' I smiled again as I turned to Lissa; she too was smiling although she raised an eyebrow, indicating that she had seen what I was doing. I merely shrugged and then, leaning closer, we kissed.

While we sat I noted that everybody did their utmost to include Eddie. He was the only one of us not dating anyone so we all tried to include him. It was good, that way he wouldn't feel like a fifth wheel; Rose had after all mentioned concerns regarding that. It was impressive too; I knew some groups who, once dating, would ignore other members of the groups. There were also those who did not intend to do so, but did anyway, without realizing it. Luckily that wasn't us. As I listened I noted that Eddie, Mason and Rose were discussing their latest training. I saw Lissa listening intently and leaned closer to her.

"What did I miss?" I asked her casually.

She raised an eyebrow at me and smirked. "What, you weren't paying attention, busy brooding again?"

I smirked back at her gentle teasing and shook my head. "Not brooding, I was…lost in thought."

"Oh is that what you call it?" I heard Rose exclaim.

I turned and saw Rose, Mason and Eddie all grinning at me and rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, whatever guys." I replied, still cheerful.

I had to admit it took me a while, but I was beginning to get the hang of the way they spoke and carried on together, the gentle good natured teasing; the jokes and the way they always seemed so relaxed around each other. Still smiling I leaned back in my seat and looked around again; it was then I saw something that made me tense, and my cheerfulness was suddenly replaced with concern.

Walking right towards us was Mia Rinaldi. I immediately glanced over at Rose and my heart sank; the look on her face told me she had seen Mia, too. Everything had been going so well, now it looked like an argument was inevitable. I wondered if there was any way I might pre-empt this before things got out of hand. Mia stopped immediately next to our table and I noticed then that I wasn't the only one who was tense; the whole group was.

"What do you want, Doll-face?" Rose snapped.

I realized something was wrong when Mia didn't react to Rose's comment. I saw she looked nervous - she was looking around, playing with her skirt, and seemed at a loss for words. The others noticed too, including Rose. Suddenly the atmosphere changed as we all found ourselves wondering just what had disturbed Mia so much that she would pass up a chance to make some disparaging comment about Lissa or to argue with Rose. Finally Mia stopped fidgeting and stood straight; she seemed to find her voice at last.

"There's…Listen, there's something I need to tell you," she said, her voice a strained whisper.

We all shared a glance before looking back to her, even Rose. It was clear that whatever was bothering Mia was enough for Rose to at least temporarily forget her animosity to the other girl.

After a few false starts Mia cleared her throat and then explained what was bothering her. "There's been, whispers, of something strange going on at night. I don't understand it, but I think something bad is happening." She paused and then added, "I think it involves the Royals, but...Whatever's going on, it may affect everybody."

I looked over at Rose, as did the others. We all recalled her saying something about this before. Rose noticed our looks and nodded. "We know, we've heard it too." Mia started and stared at us, surprised.

"What, but, seriously…But everyone else I spoke they, they just scoffed and said I was making things up," she stammered.

"My mom mentioned something was going on, something that sounds a lot like what you were just saying," Rose explained. "She didn't give many details, mostly because she didn't have that many, but I think she knew Royals were involved but chose not to tell me. Damn, that changes things."

Mia seemed relieved to have found an ally, however unexpected, here. She nodded and sighed. "I wish there was more I could tell you; I just have a really bad feeling about this."

Rose nodded and added. "You and a large number of Guardians."

Mia nodded slowly, giving a weak smile, looking slightly relieved. After an awkward silence she turned and left, leaving us to ponder what she had just revealed to us.

The more we discussed and thought about Mia's revelations, the more several things seemed to make sense. The increased Guardian patrols, particularly at night; the strange behaviour of some of the Royals and, perhaps most importantly to me, the strange feeling of being watched Lissa felt. I had heard about the issues which led to Lissa and Rose fleeing the Academy; things had been quiet for a while, but that sense of foreboding had returned and Lissa was beginning to worry again. I, too, had noticed the feeling of being watched, whenever I was with her. It certainly put things in perspective, and we knew for certain that Mia's warnings should be taken seriously; otherwise something terrible might indeed happen and we would find ourselves completely unprepared for it. But how do you prepare for a danger that is all but invisible to you? None of us had the answer to that question and that worried me greatly.

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End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	22. Chapter 22

**Vampire Academy: 3****rd**** Times the Prince Charming**

Chapter 22 of my Vampire Academy story, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Wolfgirl2013: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it :)**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: Vampire Academy belongs to Richelle Mead.

* * *

**Chapter 22**

LISSA POV

I shifted uneasily, nervously adjusting the folds of my dress. I was back up in my dorm; there was a Function for the Royals and I was expected to attend. However, after hearing what Mia had told us, I was beginning to worry and wondered if I should not try to find some excuse to back out of going. Rose seemed to sense my unease and looked up from where she was sitting on my bed.

"Lissa, what's wrong?" she asked, quickly adding. "Don't say it's nothing, I can tell there's something bothering you."

I sighed and explained my worries. "What if the people Mia was talking about are there; what if they're going to do something? What if…What if whoever it is that's following me is there? Do you really think I should go?"

I saw Rose bite her lip and pondered a moment before replying. "I think if you don't go it's bound to raise some questions. Look, I think you should go, but be extra careful; if things look like they're going to take a turn for the worst, just get out of there and we'll report it to the Guardians. If all else fails, there's still the bond."

I nodded; Rose was right. Also, even if nothing happened, I might just be able to find out who was involved in all of this and hopefully find some way of passing that information along. So, taking a deep breath and preparing myself, I left my dorm and began heading to the Function Room. I could already hear the chatter of the other Royals as I got close to it. I silently found myself wishing Christian could be present but they wouldn't allow him in. Due to their outcast status, the Ozeras were exiled from events like this. However I wasn't alone; I had barely made it to the door when I heard a familiar and thankfully welcome voice.

"Lissa; over here."

I turned and smiled as Natalie Dashkov approached me. She stopped in front of me and returned my smile.

"Hey Natalie." I greeted her in a calm casual manner. "Great to see you."

Natalie nodded and gestured towards the door. "So, you ready for this?"

I shrugged. "As ready as I'll ever be I guess."

Natalie gave my hand a reassuring squeeze and together we entered the room. A large number of Royals were already present; a few looked towards us as we entered but as soon as they saw us they lost interest. We worked our way through the room and found a spot to sit. As we sat, I looked around nervously; any one of these people could be involved in whatever was going on. Just the thought of it almost made me lose my nerve and want to leave, but I didn't, because I choose to persevere. If there were any answers here, I wanted to find them.

So, while occasionally talking to Natalie, I listened in to the conversations going on all around me. I didn't gather anything useful at first; the only thing that initially caught my attention was my name being mentioned.

"I see Dragomir's still showing her face around here." The voice was unmistakably Veronica's. "I don't get why she's still welcome, she's fraternizing with traitors, surely she should be exiled too."

I rolled my eyes and ignored her; I had more important things to listen too. I could see her out the corner of my eye and noted the dirty look she was throwing my direction; she had clearly been expecting, maybe even hoping, I'd react. I briefly noted that Mia was no longer with them, but continued to focus on my task. All the same, the fact she seemed to have gotten free from that group, made me feel optimistic that maybe Mia wasn't as bad as she seemed and we could somehow get past this animosity that stood between us. I continued looking around, noticing also, to my concern, that Natalie had left the table we were sitting at. I stood up and decided to look for her, keeping my eyes and ears open for any sign of trouble and, as Rose said, preparing myself to run.

After some searching I finally spotted Natalie; she was standing with Jesse, Ralf, and a number of others I knew at least by name. I drew closer, about to call out to Natalie when suddenly I heard them talking and froze. I couldn't believe what I was hearing; they were talking in low whispers, but I was close enough and quickly made sure I was out of sight. Without seeing anyone suspicious nearby; they continued talking. I listened in stark disbelief as they spoke of their plans.

'This is them, these are the ones Mia was talking about…How many are there, twenty? Jesse and Ralf are amongst them, so is…It can't be, so is Natalie. I know all the others too; but why, why are they doing this and just what are they hoping to accomplish?' All these thoughts ran through my head in rapid succession.

I tried in vain to keep things under control, but the thoughts just kept whirling around, making me feel dizzy. Still I kept an outward veneer of calm and walked casually back through the room. I pretended to mingle amongst the other Royals, but really I was slowly losing myself in the crowd, so none of the people in that group would notice me, and heading for the exit. Finally, I reached the door and opened it quietly. I quickly glanced behind me; nobody from that group was anywhere close. I then slipped out of the room and began to hurry, heading for Rose's dorm.

I knocked on the door quickly, trying to catch my breath. The door opened and when Rose saw me, her eyes widened.

"Lissa, what's wrong, are you okay?" She gasped. "Did something happen?"

I shook my head and tried to speak but I was still gasping for air. Rose led me into the room, closing the door behind her. "Catch your breath, then tell me what's happened."

I did so and then revealed,

"Rose I saw them, the people who Mia was talking about…Oh God Rose, Natalie's one of them."

Rose gaped at me before replying. "Wait; Natalie, are you sure? Who else is involved?"

I nodded and explained, telling her about the others. Finally once done I then revealed a worry that was plaguing me.

"These people are all Royals, Rose, we can't just accuse them." I then added, "We don't even know if they're doing anything wrong either; it might be something entirely innocent or coincidental."

Rose nodded. "You're right; listen, I think I better tell Dimitri about this; he'll be able to come up with something I'm sure."

I sighed and shook my head. "I hope you're right; especially since this weekend, remember, the Queen's coming to visit…If something happens while she's here and we could've stopped it by saying something..."

Rose nodded in understanding and I calmed down. I just hoped that whatever she did, it worked, for all our sakes.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	23. Chapter 23

**Vampire Academy: 3****rd**** Times the Prince Charming**

Chapter 23 of my Vampire Academy story, enjoy :)

**Reviews**

**Wolfgirl2013: Thanks.  
SadisticallyDelicious: Glad you enjoyed it, well, here's your answer.**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: Vampire Academy belongs to Richelle Mead.

* * *

**Chapter 23**

DIMITRI POV

I was busy on patrol, keeping an extra careful watch for any signs of trouble. Security had to be perfect and no risks could be taken, especially since tomorrow Queen Tatiana Ivashkov would be visiting the Academy. All the same, despite my efforts, I couldn't keep my thoughts from wandering to Rose. I had been part of the Guardian detail assigned to protection duty when she and Princess Dragomir had gone on that double-date with their boyfriends. It was strange, I should've felt happy; after all Rose was finally free to go around campus without worrying about early curfew. She had a boyfriend and was clearly happy. Yet, for some strange reason, I didn't. It was like the time I had caught her and her boyfriend making out in the common room. A strange feeling seemed to take hold of me and made me feel angry for some reason. I couldn't understand it. Besides, I really shouldn't be thinking like that, not with Rose; this strange angry feeling just couldn't be jealousy, could it?

'It can't be, there are some lines that must never be crossed, that is one of them.' I told myself firmly. 'This is Rose, for God sake; she's my student, we're both Dhampirs, not to mention I'm seven years older than her. I can't feel like that, it's not right.'

I quickly continued my patrol, seeking desperately for something else to think about, to get my thoughts under control.

Unfortunately the only other thing on my mind right now wasn't something comforting. It had to do with the strange late night meetings. I was still worried about them, especially due to the confirmed presence of Royals amongst them. I wasn't sure what to do, or, indeed, how to approach this. After all, it could still be entirely innocent, just a case of being in the wrong place. But without any proof, it was going to be difficult, especially since we couldn't just go around accusing people; some of them came from powerful families and their connections made many of them untouchable without solid proof against them.

Just then, I became aware of someone approaching me from behind and I turned quickly. My heart sped up when I saw it was Rose. I cleared my throat and tried to appear focused.

"Rose?"

She nodded and I noticed her expression and immediately tried to purge any thoughts of how good she looked, even in the winter uniform, from my mind. She had something serious to say; I could see it in her eyes.

"Dimitri, I…about that, issue you and the other Guardians have been worried about. Lissa overheard something at the Royal Function last night. I think you ought to know…" With that Rose explained. I was surprised by what she revealed; she even was able to name a few of the people who seemed to be involved. We still lacked solid proof, but I didn't doubt Rose and, by extension, Princess Dragomir's word. We could now focus our search for clues.

I thanked Rose for her information, after which she left. I finished my patrol and was satisfied with the security; now, however, I had to ensure we could get to the bottom of things. It didn't take me long to find Alberta and I told her what had been revealed to me.

"Dimitri, are you sure about this?" she asked, incredulous. "I mean, these people who you've identified, they're very important Royals. If they are causing trouble, it's going to create a few problems; if not…well, that's just going to cause a different set of problems."

I nodded. "I know; no matter what way you look at it, it's a mess. But if we can focus on these people, I think sooner or later, we'll figure out if things are innocent or not. If they are, we can just approach them and ask them to move to another location; if not, we'll have no choice."

Alberta sighed and nodded, knowing what I meant. "A full investigation. God, this is crazy. We'll have to be extra vigilant during her Majesty's visit."

"I know. We can't risk anything happening, especially not tomorrow."

So we quickly spread the word; without giving away who had told me about the Royals' identities, I was still able to convince the other Guardians to trust the information and we prepared for tomorrow.

Soon everything was in place and the event began. Everybody was present at the large table set up along the main hall. Queen Tatiana sat at the head of the table, occasionally talking to those closest to her. Everybody was dressed their best; for the students that meant wearing their formal uniforms. For the boys, this consisted of a pair of black dress pants; a black shirt; a black suit jacket with red interior; a red tie; black socks and black leather shoes. The girl's uniform was a black knee length pencil skirt; a red blouse; a black suit jacket with red interior; a black tie; black knee length socks and black leather shoes. Everybody was seating and either talking or eating. My eyes swept the room, briefly stopping on Rose, who was sitting with her boyfriend, Mason Ashford, and Princess Dragomir and Christian Ozera. I looked around carefully and was relieved to note that those on whom our suspicions had fallen were nowhere near Rose and her friends, or Queen Tatiana.

As soon as the formal sit-down meal had ended, everybody began walking around, talking to others whom they had been separated from at the table. I took the opportunity to carefully observe a few of the members of the group, particularly two who I noticed were getting a little too close to Rose. I also noticed the expressions on their faces and instantly knew something wasn't right about them. I wasn't surprised at their behaviour, however; I knew that the two of them, Jesse Zeklos and Ralf Sarkozy had rather unhealthy obsessions with Rose.

'Unhealthy obsessions, like I'm one to talk.' I thought scornfully as I realized what I had been thinking about them. Shaking my head I resumed my careful watch, but was interrupted when someone approached me and spoke.

"Guardian Belikov; my apologies but I was hoping you could explain why the Guardians are acting so strangely."

I turned to face the speaker and saw who it was. Victor Dashkov, a well-known and greatly respected Moroi. If he hadn't contracted Sandovsky's Syndrome, he would've been the next ruler of the Moroi; instead Tatiana had been crowned after he fell ill.

I bowed my head, greeting him respectfully. "Lord Dashkov; we are simply doing our duty, as we are required to be extra vigilant since we are also protecting the Queen."

Victor chuckled lightly at that. "There's "extra vigilant," and then there is…this. I'm sorry, but I must ask what's going on. I'm concerned."

I was hesitant – should I really share what I knew? Finally, however, I did so and told Victor about the group, the late night meetings, the close proximity to the wards and the danger it possessed. I explained that we were simply being careful to ensure that, if any sinister plot existed, we could stop it at once. To my surprise, instead of scoffing or reacting with worry, Victor sighed and shook his head sadly.

"Of all the…" He muttered before recovering. "I must apologize Guardian Belikov. This is all entirely my fault."

I had not expected that, I froze. "What, but…What do you mean?" Victor sighed again and prepared to explain. After a quick look around to ensure there wasn't any trouble, I focused on Victor as he told me just what he meant by his statement.

"There is a group of Moroi practicing magic late at night. It's a group I organized to help them get some extra practice in with their magic…I told them it would be imperative to use an empty, out of the way, room, so we didn't disturb anyone. They told me they found a room that was perfect; guess they didn't realize just how close to the wards they were."

I let out a slow breath and closed my eyes. So that was it; there was no plot, thankfully. It was just a misguided group in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Victor nodded. "Thank you for letting me know this Guardian Belikov, I will speak with my group at once and get them to find another room. My apologies for any problems this has caused you and the other Guardians."

I shook my head. "It's no trouble, thank you; I'm sure we'll all be relieved that there was nothing to worry about in the end."

Nodding Victor turned and left and I quickly found one of the other Guardians and passed the message on, soon we would be back to normal and finally we could relax.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	24. Chapter 24

**Vampire Academy: 3****rd**** Times the Prince Charming**

Chapter 24 of my Vampire Academy story, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: Vampire Academy belongs to Richelle Mead.

* * *

**Chapter 24**

ROSE POV

I smiled as I got changed into my gym uniform, ready for another training session with Dimitri. It had been a week since the Queen's visit, and I had to admit, during it I was tense. I could hear every word being said, and I had been surprised there were still so many people who expected so much from Lissa and seemed to be disappointed in her. Comparatively less were the number of those who commented on Mason and myself. Then there was the matter of those trying to get in the Queen's good graces; they were so transparent it made me want to puke sometimes. Worst of them all was Veronica; seeing her trying to lavish the Queen with attention and the way she fawned all over her. I could see that even Tatiana wasn't impressed, despite her show of gratitude towards the girl. In a way I was glad Lissa was the last Dragomir and didn't have to worry about trying to claim the throne when Tatiana died. I was sure that if Lissa had to put up with even one hour of what Tatiana endured during her visit here, she would go crazy.

Shaking my head at the thought, I finished lacing up my sneakers and straightened up. I took a deep breath to prepare myself and, letting it out slowly, I left the changing room and headed through to the gym. As I entered Dimitri had just finished setting everything up. He turned to me as I approached and nodded.

"Rose; I've been talking with Kirova and she agrees with me," he explained. "We think it's time for you to progress, to the next level of training."

I tensed, wondering if he meant what I thought he did. Sure enough he did, handing me a silver stake. I took it, feeling something close to reverence. I looked from the stake to Dimitri who nodded and then explained, "The targets are all set up as you can see. I'll be explaining everything. We're to go through the basic moves and move on from there." He paused and then added. "I'll demonstrate when we get to some of the more complicated parts but until then, I have faith you can manage once I tell you what needs to be done.

I nodded and moved my hands slightly, fixing my grip on the stake, getting used to the feel of it. I listened carefully to Dimitri's instructions and focused my mind. Preparing myself, making sure I was aware of my surroundings and preparing to begin my training. Finally, once we finished our warm up, we headed back to where the targets were set up and Dimitri gave the word and I began. I made sure I took in everything he taught me and informed me about and followed his instructions for each target. I maintained my focus and advanced through the basic techniques I had been informed about and taught and, I hoped, with some diligence, we'd manage to progress to more advanced techniques.

I knew that wasn't likely for a while yet however. No doubt I'd be doing these techniques over and over again until I could do them flawlessly. About mid-way through my training, I became aware of two other people in the room. I didn't get a good look at them, however, as Dimitri motioned for me to keep going when they first appeared. Finally however, after I took down the last target, I stopped and let out a slow steady breath. I looked over at Dimitri, who smiled and nodded. I smiled back and then saw who else was here. It was Christian's aunt, Tasha, who was watching with great interest, and, standing with her and also watching, was my mother. Seeing we were finished, they approached us.

"That was very good Rose." Tasha said cheerfully. "You have a natural talent for this it seems."

I smiled at that. "Thanks."

Dimitri also seemed happy. "Indeed; I've never seen anyone make such good progress, especially on their first lesson with the stake. What do you think Janine?" I looked over at my mother who had so far been silent. Finally she nodded and spoke up,

"I agree, you did very well Rose. Although I should probably point out, you tend to let your guard down after a successful attack, try to watch that and it'll be perfect."

I smiled and nodded. "Thanks mom." Before any of us could say anything else, however, we were distracted when suddenly the school's alarm sounded, echoing throughout the building. I tensed immediately, and at once Dimitri and mom shared a quick glance and, after a quick, whispered conversation, mom and Tasha left. Dimitri turned to me and spoke quickly,

"Rose; you need to leave at once. Find the other novices, they should be with the Moroi students." He instructed me carefully. "Go with them and wait; we need to see what this is about..."

I nodded slowly but then remembered something. "Wait, I need to find Lissa, she might not…"

Dimitri shook his head however. "Rose, I mean it, go and join the other students at once. This isn't the time for heroics, understand."

I nodded glumly and he left, rushing to find the source of the disturbance. With a sigh I left the gym and hurried into the changing room. I was worried; despite Dimitri's reassurances after he had spoken with Victor Dashkov, I was still certain there was something going on and that this group was behind it. I still couldn't fathom the reason _why_ yet, which bothered me. If that had something to do with this, I wondered just what was about to unfold. However, I had no time to ponder it. I quickly began getting changed out of my gym clothes.

I was midway through getting changed – my shorts, sneakers and socks still on, along with the blouse from my uniform – and I had just picked up my tie when I froze. I was being pulled inside Lissa's mind through the bond.

I could see through Lissa's mind; she was with some other Moroi, none of those who were part of that group, and they were hurrying to safety, having heard the alarm. However, just then a window in the corridor in front of them shattered as someone leapt through it. The man stood and grinned at the frozen Moroi as more windows, behind and in front of the group, were smashed as more people, similar to the first man, entered. They all had extremely long fangs, complexions even paler than the Moroi, and glowing red eyes. I internally gasped as I realized I knew those eyes, and that appearance – there was no doubt about it.

I also realized then what had happened: there had been something sinister going on the whole time after all. That group had used their magic to overload and dispel the wards around the school; as a result, we were now under attack. They had been waiting outside as if expecting it to happen, lying in wait for the perfect chance to strike.

We were under attack by our worst enemies, the Strigoi.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	25. Chapter 25

**Vampire Academy: 3****rd**** Times the Prince Charming**

Chapter 25 of my Vampire Academy story, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Wolfgirl2013: Yup, well, thanks, glad you enjoyed it :)**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: Vampire Academy belongs to Richelle Mead.

* * *

**Chapter 25**

ROSE POV

I gasped as I found myself back in my own body. I dropped the tie I was holding. I couldn't waste time; therefore I would have to hurry to Lissa as I was. Although to be honest I was lucky, in this sort of situation shorts were more practical than a skirt. I hurried out of the changing room and began racing down the corridor. Suddenly the window just ahead, to my right, shattered and I stopped, narrowly avoiding being showered in glass. The Strigoi straightened up and grinned when he saw me.

"Well, well, what have we here?" He drawled. "A little Dhampir slut; ripe for feeding on; nice." With that he lunged at me and I quickly dodged out of the way. My thoughts were in overdrive as I dodged him again. 'Shit, not now, I don't have time for this!'

I dodged again, ending up in Dimitri's office; I quickly used it to my advantage, dodging the Strigoi again and using all my strength to slam the door closed on his head. He grunted and fell back, dazed but not really harmed. I hadn't expected him to be; I only did that to buy a little time. Sure enough, it paid off as I found what I was looking for. Dimitri always carried spare stakes, and he had left one behind on his desk. Overjoyed my gamble had paid off, I quickly hurried over to the desk, reaching out to grab it.

Before I could grab it, however, something caught my leg and I fell. My hands hit the desk and knocked several objects, including the stake, off it and onto the floor. I grimaced at the pain and felt the air get knocked out of me as I hit the floor. I twisted around and saw the Strigoi was also on the floor. He had grabbed my ankle and was now pulling himself along the ground towards me. He was still dazed but no less deterred from his meal. I struggled, desperately reaching out towards the stake, trying to grab it, while at the same time trying to keep him off me. I could hear him laughing as he pulled himself along. I felt his cold hands as they grasped my calf and shin and he pulled himself up further. I reached for the stake more frantically, kicking out with my free leg. But he quickly held that leg back with hand and used the other to pin my right leg.

"You'll enjoy this bitch," he snarled. "I'll have a lot of fun with you, feeding and…other pleasures." He laughed and began to lower his head. I reached out again desperately; my flailing fingertips were now touching the top of the stake.

Just then I felt the pain and cried out as he sank his fangs into the inside of my right thigh. I tried to fight the heady feeling that came with being bitten, but it was too strong – much tronger than what I felt those times I allowed Lissa to feed off me while we were on the run.

Suddenly the pain was gone, the weight on my legs disappeared, and I could hear the screaming of the Strigoi. Someone was pressing something against my thigh, against the bite, and binding it to my leg. Slowly, everything cleared and I became fully aware again. I saw the Strigoi, dead on the ground, and Alberta standing over him, stake in hand. Dimitri was kneeling next to me, having just finished binding a cloth to my bite wound.

"Rose, are you alright?" he asked worriedly.

I nodded. "F-fine…He came through the window, I…Lissa's in trouble, there's more of them."

Alberta turned to me, eyes flashing dangerously. "What do you mean?"

"Rose, try to stay calm, deep breath, now tell me, what's going on?" Dimitri said calmly, although I could see the tension in his eyes.

I did as he said and began explaining. "The bond I have with Lissa, I ended up being pulling into her mind while I was getting changed. I saw them, there's a whole army of Strigoi attacking the Academy."

Dimitri and Alberta shared a dark look as Alberta growled, "The wards, that's why they're down, they've been destroyed."

"But how, do you think that group…?" Dimitri began. Alberta nodded, and asked her own question,

"I think they did, but the better question, did they do it deliberately or was it an accident like Victor suggested?"

I shook my head at them; this wasn't the time to try and work out why. I stood up; Dimitri standing too, making sure I was steady on my feet. The bite stung a little but otherwise the pain was no longer noticeable.

"Can we work this all out later, Lissa's still in danger!" I said quickly.

Alberta nodded. "You're right. Dimitri, we must go, we have to warn the other Guardians who aren't already aware and rescue those who as still in danger."

I made to follow them but Dimitri shook his head. "No Rose, I know you're Lissa's Guardian, but you're still a novice, you aren't ready for this. We'll rescue Lissa, I promise. Now get to safety."

With that they both left, leaving me glaring after them. I knelt down and grabbed up the stake that had dropped to the floor. 'Like hell I'm going anywhere without Lissa,' I thought angrily.

With that I left the office and rushed as quickly as I could, heading for the corridor Lissa had been in while I had seen inside her mind. Unless the bond activated again and gave me fresh clues, it was the last place I knew she was and had to search there. As I ran through the school however, I quickly realized it had become a battlefield; there was indeed a whole army of Strigoi present. Many of them were attacking and killing Moroi, capturing a few along with any Dhampirs that they could grab. Many Guardians were present and fighting, but they were outnumbered. What was more, I could see several Moroi, each known to me as members of that group, fighting on the Strigoi's side. That confused me, making me wonder what the hell was going on.

Finally, after dodging and working my way through the battles and some of the wreckage which now littered the school from some of the Moroi using their magic to defend themselves, I made it. I arrived at the corridor Lissa had been in, noticing that at least three Moroi bodies were present, though none of them were hers. None of the Strigoi were present, however, and Lissa was also missing. I held the stake at the ready, looking around warily.

"Where is everyone?" I muttered to myself, frustrated and trying to ignore the dull throb from the wound in my right thigh.

My training under Dimitri paid off as I noticed an almost imperceptible movement from a curtain to my left. As such, when the Strigoi leapt out to attack, I was ready for him. I quickly ducked under his attack and, remembering Dimitri's lessons from not more than an hour ago, I struck. The stake hit home and the Strigoi cried terribly. I didn't let up but pushed it deeper, drawing more cries until finally he stopped struggling and twitching. I pulled the stake out of his heart and he fell to the ground. I could only stare in disbelief at the first Strigoi I had killed.

Footsteps behind me made me spin around. I glared, stake raised as I saw another Strigoi approaching me. This one seemed calm however, too calm. He then came close and I froze, uncomprehending; I knew him. That smug grin was unmistakable, but how...how could he have allowed himself to become such a monster?

It was Jesse.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	26. Chapter 26

**Vampire Academy: 3****rd**** Times the Prince Charming**

Chapter 26 of my Vampire Academy story, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Wolfgirl2013: Thanks.  
SadisticallyDelicious: Yeah, pretty freaky, wait till you see the end of this chapter, thanks, glad you enjoyed :)**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: Vampire Academy belongs to Richelle Mead.

* * *

**Chapter 26**

ROSE POV

Jesse approached me, smirking darkly. I took a step back, watching him carefully.

"Rose, there you are; I was looking for you," he remarked, his casual drawl now even more pronounced, as was his obvious and frightening obsession for me. "You'll make a fine pet for me. I can make it nice and easy too. Just drop the stake and give yourself to me, I promise you'll enjoy it."

I snarled at his words; how dare he treat me that way! "Like hell asshole! Look at what you've done to yourself!"

Jesse, however, just laughed. "I know, I have achieved greater power than I've ever had before! It was so easy, too; all I had to do was kill someone." His red Strigoi eyes lit up with cruel amusement. "I don't care what the boss says; you're _mine,_ and given how you reacted, I'll just have even more fun _breaking_ you."

I was thrown off guard by his comment. He was working for someone else? But that distraction nearly proved fatal, as Jesse lunged at me while I was lost in thought. I cursed and narrowly dodged to the side, only just avoiding his outstretched arms. He growled and turned to me, baring his fangs. I knew right away I had to stay focused and not let him get too close. I couldn't let him bite me. I still recalled the last bite, the dull throb still there in my thigh, and how helpless I had been once the heady feeling had taken effect. I couldn't let that happen here.

I had no illusions as to what fate awaited me if he was successful. It was clear that, despite apparently being given orders to kill me, he wanted me for himself. He had no intentions of making me Strigoi along with him, or to kill me and drain all my blood, although he was after my blood too.

'No, he wants me for my body, to use like some sex toy…to make me his blood whore.' I realized with revulsion.

I kept my guard up, stake at the ready as I spoke to him, "Dream on Jesse, you sick freak, I'll never be your blood whore. And also, you're wrong, you're _not_ 'powerful'...You're a _monster_."

He glared at me and growled. "How dare you – you dare deny me! I will have you, no matter _what_ you say!"

He lunged again but I quickly rolled out of the way. I needed to wait for an opening; I had to keep getting him angry until he exposed one. But there was something else, something I felt was more important, especially given the reason why I was in this corridor to begin with.

"Where is Lissa?" I asked sharply.

Jesse seemed to recover as I said that and laughed. "Oh, she's alive; the boss wants to see her, so some of the others took her to him."

I growled; again with this damned mysterious boss. Not only that, but Lissa had been _kidnapped_. Now I knew I couldn't waste more time; I'd have to finish this and try and find Lissa quickly.

Jesse took a step towards me. Still grinning, he raised a hand. "I'll give you one last chance Rose," he said. His voice still carried a dark edge to it, despite his attempts to be reassuring. "I'm your best chance of surviving this, so, what's it to be, you wanna die, or would you rather live? All you have to do is drop that stake and spread your legs – should be easy for a slut like you, right?"

That was it. I wasn't going to let him talk to me like that. Growling, I charged forwards, taking him by surprise. I shoulder-tackled him to the ground and raised the stake, about to strike. Jesse, however, swept my legs out from under me, making me hit the ground. Acting fast I rolled out of the way, hearing Jesse slam into the ground where I had just been lying. I sprang back to my feet, stake still in hand. He stood up too, growling, when suddenly we both heard footsteps approaching. I tensed, worried; was it reinforcements for Jesse, or was it one of the Guardians, reinforcements for me? Even Jesse looked unsure.

We soon got our answer, and when I saw who it was, I felt relief flood through me. It was Dimitri. Dimitri saw us and immediately began rushing forwards; Jesse cursed and turned, fleeing before Dimitri could catch him and disappearing into the night.

Dimitri turned to me, clearly angry. "Rose, what the hell are you doing here, I told you…?"

I shook my head. "I know what you told me, but I can't leave Lissa. You saw this, Jesse was part of that group. They destroyed the wards and are now turning into Strigoi!"

Dimitri sighed and nodded. "I…You're right; it's not just Jesse either…We caught his friend Ralf about to turn Strigoi too, but we quickly apprehended him. They're falling back for some reason."

"They've got Lissa; they're taking her to whoever's leading them, that's what Jesse said. This was planned, targeted, this isn't some random attack," I replied quickly.

Dimitri agreed. "You're right; we've managed to capture a few other members of that group that haven't turned. But, some of them escaped, Natalie amongst them."

I groaned at that. "Just great; but how do we find Lissa…not only that, there could be stragglers but they won't tell us anything."

Dimitri sighed. "Alright, we'll have to start searching. But Rose, I mean it, no heroics…I'm well aware you've already killed a Strigoi, but this isn't the time to…"

I never heard the rest of what Dimitri said, since at that moment I was pulled into Lissa's mind once more.

She was being dragged, despite her efforts to fight. Her hands were tied behind her back and she had been gagged. I could see several Strigoi surrounding her, as well as members of that group – some had become Strigoi, some hadn't. Natalie was amongst them. I could feel Lissa's panic and I knew how desperate things were. I needed to try and observe Lissa's surroundings; it was my only hope of finding her. Yet, as if realizing, or perhaps simply remembering, the bond, Lissa worked to calm herself down and began taking in her surroundings. I noticed they were outside, having left by the main entrance. They were approaching the edge of the Academy grounds; once beyond, they would be outside the wards when they reactivated.

Just then, however, Lissa's attention was taken away from her surroundings. I understood why with a sickening jolt – I wondered how many more shocks I would have to endure today. The head Strigoi was present, but clearly not the overall leader; that turned out to be the man standing next to him. It was the last person I ever suspected of this kind of treachery.

It was Victor Dashkov.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	27. Chapter 27

**Vampire Academy: 3****rd**** Times the Prince Charming**

Chapter 27 of my Vampire Academy story, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)  
SadisticallyDelicious: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it :)**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: Vampire Academy belongs to Richelle Mead.

* * *

**Chapter 27**

DIMITRI POV

I had been trying to warn Rose about the danger she was putting herself in. She wasn't ready to face this sort of thing yet! But seeing the vacant look in her eyes, I realized that the bond between her and Princess Dragomir was active and she was seeing where she was. I just hoped this would pay off and we'd arrive in time to save her.

Just then, there was a disturbance and I turned, stake ready. Three Strigoi were bearing down on us. Rose recovered just in time to dodge and we acted quickly. I was relieved to note that her training had paid off. Rose kept up very well and even killed one of the Strigoi, her second. I swiftly killed the other two and then turned to her.

"Rose, what did you see; where is Princess Dragomir?"

Rose shook her head. "I still can't believe what I saw…"

I stepped forwards, caused her to regain her focus. "What did you see. Where is she?"

"Lissa's outside; they left through the main gate and took her to their leader…Dimitri, it's Victor. He's behind this; I saw him."

I froze in disbelief. "Victor? But that's…How? _Why?_"

Rose shook her head again. "I don't know exactly, but he needs Lissa's Spirit powers for something…He's going to take her with him when he flees. He organized this whole thing; I don't know why, but we can't stay here."

I nodded; Rose was right. We hurried, desperate to catch up with Victor and his men and rescue Princess Dragomir, before it was too late.

As we ran, we could hear all around us the sounds of fighting; the stragglers were coming out of hiding to launch sneak attacks. Just then we heard a scream and Rose stopped. I followed her gaze and also froze. A Strigoi was right in front of us, attacking a young teenage girl, one of the students; she was a blonde haired Moroi. However, before we could intervene, Rose's friend, Eddie Castile, suddenly appeared, tackling the Strigoi and thrusting a stake through the monster's heart. As it died, Eddie let out a gasp before turning to the girl, standing up as he did so.

"Are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?" he asked.

She shook her head. "I…I think I twisted my ankle but…Thank you, you saved me."

He smiled. "That's what I do; c'mon, I'll get you to safety, hold onto me." With that he pulled her arm around his shoulder and put his other arm around his waist. Then he saw us.

"Rose, we need to…" he began.

Rose shook her head. "I don't have time, Eddie; Lissa's in danger and we're gonna go save her. You need to tell any other Guardians you find where we're going. She's outside, at the edge of the Academy grounds."

Eddie seemed surprised by this but nodded. Rose turned back to me and we continued heading towards our destination. As we left I heard Eddie and the girl introducing themselves to each other.

"I'm Eddie, by the way, Eddie Castile."

"Jillian Mastrano, my friends call me Jill."

We didn't hear any more as we continued running, finally making it outside.

We raced across the grounds. I was gripping my stake so tightly my hand ached, and I could see Rose had a similar vice grip on her own weapon. We finally reached the area Rose described. Natalie had already left with those who were part of that group, but Victor was still present, as was Princess Dragomir and a good number of the Strigoi.

"Ah, good, Rosemarie, you're just in time," Victor stated with a grin. "I was just about to tell dear Vasilisa some interesting information…concerning you."

Rose paused, suddenly wary. I glanced at her out the corner of my eye before resuming my watch of the Strigoi. Sensing his advantage Victor explained, "Tell me, have either of you heard the expression…"shadow-kissed" before?"

I shook my head, but based on their reactions, Princess Dragomir and Rose had.

Victor continued, "It is the expression used for a person who was…well, _dead_, but was brought _back_ from death by a Spirit user immediately afterwards. It creates a bond between the two."

Rose's eyes widened and she shook her head in disbelief. I couldn't believe what I was hearing either, yet Victor seemed convinced of it.

"Yes, by saving you from death after that car accident, Vasilisa branded you with that bond. You are shadow-kissed, Rosemarie." He then turned to Princess Dragomir, who was shaking, hands bound behind her back. A length of cloth hung loose around her neck, showing she had recently been gagged.

"You see now," he stated plainly. "You see the power you wield? That power will be the key. It will even make this alliance I have with our cousins here even more profitable. So, join me and help change the world."

I tensed; wondering just what Princess Dragomir would say. I didn't have to wait long, though; Princess Dragomir shared one look with Rose then glared at Victor.

"Never!" she snarled defiantly. "I'll _never_ help you! This is madness!"

Victor shrugged. "So be it. I guess I will have to give you some incentive. Take the Dhampir girl prisoner, and kill the man."

With that, the Strigoi attacked. Victor's plan was suddenly clear: he was going to use Rose as a prisoner to gain leverage on Princess Dragomir and force her to help him. Rose and I immediately fought back, trying to ward off the Strigoi. But it was a losing battle, as we were both tired and they knew it; they were simply wearing us down. Just then, however, Victor suddenly cried out. We all turned and saw that another of Rose's friends, her boyfriend, in fact, Mason Ashford, had just tackled him.

"Show's over Victor!" He yelled. "The wards will be back up soon and the Guardians are on their way!"

Hearing this, many of the Strigoi panicked and began fleeing, not wanting to be trapped when the Guardians arrived. Victor roared with rage and pushed Mason off him, and the two of them began fighting. I turned to the last few Strigoi who had remained behind and began fighting them while Rose went and released Princess Dragomir.

Rose just finished and helped Princess Dragomir to her feet, and I had just killed the last Strigoi, when we all turned and froze in horror. We watched in shock and disbelief as, after dodging a punch from him, Victor grabbed Mason and, without any hint of remorse, snapped his neck, killing him instantly.

* * *

End of chapter, nearing the end now, things have taken a drastic turn, read and review please.


	28. Chapter 28

**Vampire Academy: 3****rd**** Times the Prince Charming**

Chapter 28 of my Vampire Academy story, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)  
SadisticallyDelicious: Yeah, it's pretty sad, well, I decided to go for the shock effect.  
Katie99mo: Here you go.**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: Vampire Academy belongs to Richelle Mead.

* * *

**Chapter 28**

LISSA POV

Everything froze.

We all watched helplessly as Mason's lifeless body dropped to the ground. I stared first at the body, then, in disbelief, at Victor. There was nothing – no emotion, no remorse, on his face. It was totally empty of emotion. I looked over at Dimitri; he, too, was standing in shock, unable to move. Rose, likewise, was in shock; however she seemed like she was about to fall. I gently touched her shoulder, but she didn't move.

After a moments' silence, Victor shook his head and muttered, "Stupid boy, you shouldn't have got in my way."

That seemed to revive something in Rose. Before I could stop her, she threw herself at Victor, knocking him down. I gasped as, with tears flowing freely, she pummelled Victor, attacking him again and again, all the while screaming at him,

"HOW DARE YOU, YOU…YOU'RE NO BETTER THAN THEM, YOU MONSTER, I…!"

She continued until Dimitri recovered and rushed forwards, pulling her off Victor. Rose struggled against him.

"LET ME GO!" she screamed. "HE KILLED MASON, HE CAUSED ALL OF THIS, HE HAS TO PAY!"

Dimitri didn't let Rose go, however; instead he shook his head. "I agree, but it has to be done properly, Rose," he told her quietly. "Killing him won't bring Mason back, won't bring back all those we lost…It won't bring justice. Let the courts deal with him; they'll bring him to justice. This is the worst kind of betrayal; he won't get away with it."

Rose stopped struggling after hearing that. I then noticed that we had company. A large crowd had gathered: Guardians and teachers and other adult Moroi from the Academy. They had heard Rose's outburst and Dimitri's response, but I wasn't sure how much they had witnessed. Victor slowly began sitting up, clearly suffering from both Rose's attack and his illness. Kirova then stepped forwards from the crowd.

"Guardian Belikov, Princess Dragomir, is all of this true?" she demanded. "Did Victor Dashkov really cause all this?" She wasn't asking about Mason, so she must've have seen what had happened to him with her own eyes.

Dimitri replied immediately. "Yes ma'am, every word."

I nodded in confirmation, before adding. "He was trying to kidnap me; he used the Strigoi to get me and…and…" I took a moment to compose myself and then explained about the group of Royals, some of whom were imprisoned now. When I was done, Kirova sighed.

"Very well, I'll contact the Royal Court." She turned to two Guardians. "Arrest Victor Dashkov and imprison him with the others, now."

They did so and Kirova then turned to Dimitri again. "I'll leave the rest to you Guardian Belikov."

Dimitri nodded and she left, along with the teachers and other adult Moroi. Some of the Guardians left, too, but a handful stayed. I turned my attention back to Rose. Dimitri had let her go and she was now kneeling next to Mason's corpse. Her shoulders shook as she continued to cry, the tears sliding down her face as she choked out sobs every now and again. I knelt down next to her and put my arm around her shoulders. She completely broke down then, crying into my shoulder. I did my best to soothe her.

Dimitri then approached us. "We need to go; we'll take Mason's body inside…Rose…"

She shook her head. "No, please…"

Dimitri spoke softly, "Let him go Rose; we need to take him inside. He needs to be prepared for the funeral, and he deserves a proper one."

With that, Rose limply let go of Mason's wrist and sank against me. The Guardians that remained behind came forwards and reverently lifted Mason's body, giving him the respect he deserved, and carried him back inside. Even as the snow began to fall, we remained there for a while, until finally Dimitri spoke.

"Princess, could you please take Rose back to her room. She needs to sleep; if only to help her prepare for what's to come."

I nodded and helped Rose back to her feet. Supporting her, I began to lead her back inside. As I walked to Rose's dorm, I could see remainders of the battle scattered around, with many people trying to put things back into some kind of order. The bodies, however, had been long cleared out. I could see some of the other students emerging and some of them tried to help in the cleaning up. I passed Eddie, who was accompanied by a young blonde girl. I saw the ashen look on his face and knew he had seen Mason's body. I sighed sadly and nodded to him as I finally got away from the mess and reached Rose's dorm.

Rose was still distraught, unable to do anything. She stared listlessly off into space as tears slid down her cheeks. I helped her get changed into her pyjamas and lay her down on the bed.

"Rose I…I don't know what to say," I said softly.

Rose groaned, closing her eyes. "Then don't say anything."

I nodded and simply sat on the bed, offering what comfort I could while Rose cried herself to sleep. I was reluctant, but decided in the end she needed space. Once Rose was asleep, I stood up and quietly left the room. As I stepped outside, I nearly ran straight into Christian. I could tell from his face he had heard all about what had happened. Without a word he held out his arms and I immediately moved into his embrace. My own tears, which I had held back for Rose's sake, finally spilled forth. Christian kissed me and gently rubbed my back.

"I'm so sorry Lissa; all of this is messed up," he said softly. "How is…How is Rose?"

I shook my head. "Heartbroken; she really cared for Mason but now…now he's dead." Just saying the words were hard. I didn't want to think about what would happen to Rose tomorrow morning.

Christian slowly guided me back to my dorm. I was still distraught myself, and deeply shaken by everything that had happened. This was a huge mess; it was going to take a long time before we all could recover from this, especially Rose. I got changed into my nightgown in the bathroom and then stepped out. Christian nodded to me and stood up, but I hurried over to him, throwing my arms around him.

"Please." I gasped out. "Don't go…can, can you stay with me tonight?"

Christian seemed surprised at first, but then nodded. He quickly removed his clothing, down to his boxers, and then we both climbed into bed. He held me close and I allowed myself to relax. Listening to the sound of his heartbeat, I finally managed to drift off to sleep.

* * *

End of chapter, read and review please.


	29. Chapter 29

**Vampire Academy: 3****rd**** Times the Prince Charming**

Chapter 29 of my Vampire Academy story.

**Reviews**

**Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)  
SadisticallyDelicious: Yeah, it's pretty sad; glad you liked the chapter, here is the next.**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: Vampire Academy belongs to Richelle Mead.

* * *

**Chapter 29**

ROSE POV

I awoke and noted I was back in my own bed. At first, I had no real recollection of how I got there, just vague memories of Lissa bringing me here, but then it all came back at once – Mason was _dead_, killed by Victor. I broke down again, and it was as if a hole had just been ripped open in my heart.

'How could this be…why?' My thoughts were forlorn, almost lifeless. It didn't make sense. It didn't need to happen. No matter what, I would never understand why.

Finally, when no more tears came, I pulled myself up out of bed; even that felt like an effort. Everything did now. I slowly, listlessly, got dressed and, after some hesitation, left my dorm. I didn't have any set destination in mind; I just wandered aimlessly. All around me, I could see the looks on everyone's faces – the sadness, the devastation. Mason's death was felt by, and affected, everyone. A few of the people saw me, but said nothing, just glanced at me, looking lost and unsure. I couldn't blame them, since they were clearly thinking the same thing – what do you say to the girlfriend of someone who just died?

It was only after I stopped walking that I realized where I had subconsciously decided to go. I was at the church. My thoughts raced at this. 'Do I really wanna do this, am I really ready for…' Shaking my head, I forced myself to move and entered the church.

Inside, I could see that preparations had already been made for the funeral. Then, I stopped again, the sight before me wrenching at my heart. For there, kneeling in front of the casket, crying uncontrollably, was Eddie. I bit my lip. I had almost forgotten about how Eddie would have been affected, since Mason was his best friend, after all. It was only when I saw movement that I noticed Eddie wasn't alone. A young blonde Moroi girl was with him; she knelt down next to him and put an arm around his shoulders. He leaned into her, still crying. Slowly, uncertainly, I walked up until I stood next to them. Eddie then looked up.

"R-Rose," he choked out when he saw me, hastily wiping his eyes. "I…"

I shook my head. "Don't…I just, I had to see, even if…"

Eddie nodded in understanding. "It's...he doesn't actually…look that bad."

I turned my gaze to the casket, which was open. Eddie was right; other than the fact I knew he was dead, there was no sign of damage or deformation on Mason. He looked just as I remembered him, clad in his best clothes, prepared for the final journey. The sight was almost too much for me to take. I could feel myself shaking again and I knew the tears weren't far from coming. Eddie must have seen this and decided to give me privacy, because I heard him turn and speak to the other girl.

"Let's go Jill; give…give Rose a minute." His voice was soft, still choked with tears but slightly calmer.

I heard their footsteps and then the door as they finally left.

I grasped the side of the casket, looking directly at Mason's face. The mortuary had made it impossible to tell that his neck was actually twisted to an impossible angle. Seeing him like this made me want to believe it was all a cruel joke, that he would wake up any minute. I knew it wasn't true, but I wanted to believe it all the same. If only it was.

"Why…" I whispered. I didn't care that I had already asked it; no matter how many times I asked, the question still lingered.

I wasn't even aware of my surroundings until I felt the hand on my shoulder. I jerked and spun around. It just was Dimitri, an expression of deep sympathy on his face.

"Roza," he said. "I…I'm so sorry."

I shook my head. "Why? Why are you sorry? You're not the one who killed him; you were overwhelmed by Strigoi, you couldn't have saved him."

Dimitri then surprised me by embracing me. "I know he meant a lot to you…If I could've done things differently, I would have."

"I know." I choked out as a fresh wave of tears came.

Dimitri didn't say anymore; he simply held me while I cried. When we finally parted, I nodded and we both turned and left. I couldn't help it, however; I turned and looked back once more at Mason's body.

My voice trembled as I whispered, "Goodbye."

I then left the church with Dimitri. However, at the doors I stopped as I saw some people approaching. It was a middle aged couple with rather familiar features. Mason's parents.

I felt frozen. They were the last people I wanted to see at this time. How would they react to me? I could've saved Mason after all; in fact, if it _wasn't_ for me, Mason wouldn't have even been there, I was sure. They stopped in front of me, silence reigning for a long while as Dimitri stepped to the side.

Finally Mr. Ashford spoke, "Are you…Rosemarie Hathaway?"

I nodded, bracing myself for their reaction. To my surprise, Mrs. Ashford let out a small cry and threw her arms around me.

"God, I can't believe this happened," she said, her voice sounded frantic. "You were there, weren't you?"

Again I nodded. Then she asked. "Please tell me; what happened, what made our son risk his life like that?"

I fumbled with my words before finally replying, "He…He was simply trying to do what he had been trained to do…He was protecting a Moroi, from a traitor."

She let out a shaky gasp, and there was another pause before Mr. Ashford asked, "Did he…did he suffer?"

I shook my head. "No, it was quick, he probably didn't even feel it." Finally Mrs. Ashford let me go and I stood aside with Dimitri as they entered the church to see their son's body.

Dimitri did his best to comfort me. "You told them the truth, Rose; you gave some closure at least."

"That doesn't matter," I said sadly. "No parent should have to bury their child." With that I turned and walked away, wandering aimlessly again.

When I finally stopped, I did so because I ran into Lissa and Christian. I could see that Lissa had been crying and Christian was noticeably more sombre than usual. Almost immediately, Lissa threw her arms around me.

"Oh, Rose…I…"

I gently returned the embrace, fighting back tears. "Still don't know what to say?"

Lissa nodded and I sighed. "Then don't worry about saying something. Just...just this is enough."

Lissa nodded and we remained like that for some time. Christian stood nearby, watching us sadly. I looked over at him.

"You've lost someone close to you; how do you deal with it?" I asked desperately.

Christian shook his head. "You're referring to my parents...after what they did, why should anyone grieve them?"

I looked him in the eye and replied firmly," They were still your parents…You can't tell me you felt nothing for them."

Christian sighed and finally nodded, his shoulders slumping.

"I…I don't know. I was upset but, my anger at them was greater, kept me from breaking down. Now I just…don't think about it, really."

I sighed and nodded, appreciating that he at least tried. I knew that Christian could at least partially truly sympathize with me. I just wished it didn't have to be so hard.

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End of chapter, read and review please.


	30. Chapter 30

**Vampire Academy: 3****rd**** Times the Prince Charming**

Chapter 30 of my Game of Thrones story, the final chapter.

**Reviews**

**Wolfgirl2013: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it.  
SadisticallyDelicious: Well, we won't really see that until the next story, here's the final chapter now, Mason's funeral.**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: Vampire Academy belongs to Richelle Mead.

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**Chapter 30**

ROSE POV

I tugged thoughtlessly at the hem of my black dress, briefly wondering if I should do something about the bandage around my neck, which covered the fresh tattoo-like _molnija_ marks I had received for the two Strigoi I had killed. I shook my head; there was no point, since everybody knew about it. Besides, it wasn't that important, not compared to what was happening right now.

It was finally time for Mason's funeral.

I looked at the mirror, and bit my lip. My eyes were already red from crying all last night. Still, I found that I didn't actually care; it all paled in comparison to this. This just felt…final. This really was it. After today, I could no longer pretend that Mason's death was some cruel joke, or a dream; it had really happened. Shaking slightly and fighting back fresh tears, I turned away from the mirror and exited the room. The emptiness in my heart felt more pronounced now. I could only watch, listless, as I joined the crowd that was filing to the church. I finally entered myself and felt my breath hitch. Mason's casket was still open; I could still see him.

'He looks…peaceful,' I thought to myself before the tears came again. 'Dammit, it was so meaningless, he didn't have to die!'

I numbly made my way to my seat, next to Lissa. Christian sat on her other side. They both looked at me as I sat, but said nothing. I looked around to see Eddie sitting further along the pew with that girl, Jill, sitting next to him. I continued to glance around; the whole Academy was here – well, except those obviously missing – the ones that fled, died or had been arrested. I saw Mason's parents in the row in front of me and the lump formed in my throat again. I couldn't help myself and the tears spilled forth. The whole time Lissa, Christian, and even Dimitri had tried to talk to me before the funeral actually began, but I said nothing to them and remained closed off. I couldn't take it; I just wanted to go numb, and let the pain go away, so I didn't have to feel it any more. They eventually gave up trying.

Suddenly the seat next to me was filled. I slowly lifted my gaze and saw my mother sitting there.

"Rose…" she whispered.

I choked back a sob and then asked, "Is this what they meant, back then, when they...when they talked about…the sacrifices that all Guardian's make?"

She was quiet for a moment before nodding slowly. "Yes. Sometimes, we pay the ultimate sacrifice. That is what those who remain must always remember." I knew then what mom meant; finally the meaning of her words sank in. She had lost people, fellow Guardians who she had been close to. She knew the pain, how it felt, how distraught I was.

When the funeral officially began, I sat, crying at some times and staring at Mason at other times, even when they finally closed the casket. Whenever I cried, mom would put her arm around me and I would lean against her until I recovered.

Finally, when the funeral was over, I left the church with everybody else; however I soon worked my way out of the crowd and stood separately from them. I was aware of Lissa and Christian, Eddie, Dimitri, and even my mother, all standing and watching me. But I didn't care. I gazed up at the sky, a forlorn sense of loss welling up inside.

'What do I do now…How can I possibly move on?'

I had no answer for myself.

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End of chapter and of story, read and review please.


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